Chaos of the Soul
by Dandylions
Summary: It's been years since Bark has seen any of his old friends. Life's been good for him. But when an old acquaintance goes missing, his peaceful life is about to be tossed into chaos...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Sega owns everything...

* * *

**

**Chapter 1**

**The Trouble Begins**

Early morning sunlight leaked in through the cracks in a set of old blinds and cast strange patterns on the dull white walls of a small apartment room. The room was almost bare; the only furniture was a bed and a side table. The table was of normal variety. It was made of wood and had been painted a dark green; but age was beginning to talk it's toll and the paint was chipping. On top of the table sat a clock. The numerals 6:59 were stamped across it's blank face in vibrant red lights. The clock flashed 7:00, and a loud, monotonous beeping echoed around the small room.

_Ugh, I hate Mondays. _Bark the polar bear groaned to himself as awoke to the persistent beeping. He yawned loudly and considered smacking the snooze button. After several moments of debating, he decided against it and sat up in his messy, unmade bed. Giving the alarm clock one last hate filled look, Bark flicked off the switch and the beeping ceased.

He grabbed his shoes from his bedside and slipped them on. Bark raised his hands above his head and stretched out his arms. Thus Bark began his usual monotonous morning routine. The polar bear got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, threw open the cabinet, and grabbed his toothbrush. He slopped some sea green toothpaste on the head and scrubbed at his teeth. As he spat out the foul tasting mess, Bark glanced up at his reflection in the mirror. He still looked the same as he had many, many years ago when he was still in contact with Bean.

Bark grabbed a moist towel and buried his face in it. Sometimes he really missed that goon. Sure he could get annoying, but they had been friends. After a while they had lost contact and drifted apart. Now Bark lived his own boring, solitary life in a tiny apartment in Station Square. But, hey, everything has to change. Bark rubbed the sleep from his eyes and tossed the towel half heartedly into the sink.

Following his daily schedule, Bark walked out of the bathroom and into the small living room. It looked almost exactly the same as the bedroom: boring white walls and few peices of furniture. The polar grabbed the remote off the wooden, water-stained coffee table. He flopped down on the couch and clicked on the TV. Bark wasn't poor or anything, but his money was limited, therefore he only had one channel on the TV: the news.

After a brief moment of static, the screen cleared to reveal a lady holding a microphone. She was one of those ladies who was obviously aging, yet still in denial. In the background, some sort of lab was displayed. It was quite obvious that someone had broken into it; windows were shattered and the door had been kicked in. "This Brenda White, reporting to you live from Station Square's most advanced lab where it appears that one of the world's leading scientists, Miles Prower, has been kidnapped."

"Details are sketchy at this hour, but we do have an eyewitness who claims that a mysterious figure clad in all black broke through the window and held three scientists at gunpoint. Sadly one was shot and killed, and the other, our eyewitness, was wounded. The mysterious figure shot Miles Prower with what our witness claims was a sedative. The figure then kicked down the door and vanished."

"Yeah right," Bark said as he turned off the TV. He sighed and glanced over at the clock. It was only 6:20. The polar bear sat up and made his way over to the kitchen counter. He grabbed a set of keys, his scarf, and his hat and walked out the door. The neighborhood that he was living in was a little sketchy, so Bark double checked to make sure he had locked the door. Satisfied, he put on the hat and wrapped the scarf around his neck.

From the window of the apartment next door, a young purple hedgehog waved at him. Bark had met him a couple months ago when he first moved in. He wasn't a bad kid. Kind of on the shrimpy side, but he had a good heart. The polar bear waved back and headed down the stairs. A blast of cold air hit him with what felt like the force of a tornado. Bark was instantly glad for his thick fur that adapted him to this freezing cold climate.

But still, he shivered slightly and wrapped his scarf tighter. _The weather's kind of glum... _Bark observed as he walked down the foggy streets. Droplets of fog clung to his fur, causing small rivulets to run down the side of his face. He shook them off, scattering drops all over the damp sidewalk. Catching sight of a strange figure in the fog, Bark slowed his footsteps to a halt. Every hair on his body stood on edge as the figure revealed itself. It was a GUN robot. The machine seemed to be looking for someone or something. Well, whatever it was doing here, Bark didn't want anything to do with it.

Mumbling to himself about the government, he quickly turned down a cobblestone path and walked up to the nearest building: a small, cozy looking cottage. The scent of coffee and cream wafted through the cracked windows creating an alluring scent that any creature with an ounce of common sense would follow. Since Bark was no exception, he gladly walked up the path. He took one last look over his shoulder. The robot was still out there, it's mechanical eyes scanning every inch of the street.

Bark opened up the door, the squeak of it causing the robot to swivel it's metal head, and stepped inside. He found himself standing in the doorway of a small coffee shop, just as the scent had implied. The owner, a scruffy looking dog gave him a quick wave. "Good mornin'. I don't usually see your types in here."

Bark grunted in reply and flopped down on a large over stuffed armchair. He lifted up the blinds of the window behind him and peeked out. The robot was still there. Bark might as well stay. The quiet was reassuring and calming to him. He had a feeling that normally this coffee shop was bustling with costumers, but at 6:45 in the morning, it was peaceful and quiet, just the way he liked it. "So what brings you in here, big guy?" The dog asked.

Bark hitched his thumb back in the direction of the street. "Staying out of that robot's way."

The dog nodded in approval, "Smart idea. I've seen what them robots can do. It ain't that pretty. By the way, my name's Benny."

"I'm Bark." The polar bear muttered as he kicked his feet up onto the armchair's ottoman.

The dog known as Benny leaned against the counter, "You see the news this mornin'?" He asked, attempting to make small talk with the surly polar bear.

"Yeah, I saw it." Bark answered, wanting the conversation to end.

"That's probably why that robot's out there. So, whadda ya think?" Benny asked. Bark shrugged. Benny continued talking, "I think it's a bunch of baloney. This person kidnaps the best scientist in the world and just vanishes? Please..."

Bark shrugged again, "There was a hedgehog who appeared about ten years ago who could do something called 'Chaos Control'. Maybe this figure can do it too."

"I doubt it..." Benny muttered as he wiped down the counters with an old wet rag. "I think it's a conspiracy... The government's up to somethin'..."

Bark raised an eyebrow. A conspiracy theory? The coffee fumes must be getting to this dog's head. Suddenly, the bells on the door jingled madly as the door was thrown open. Two men wearing black suits, shiny black shoes, shades, and some kind of earpiece stepped into the door. They flashed their badges at Benny, "We're looking for Bark the polar bear." One agent said.

The second agent held up a picture of Bark, "Have you seen him?" He asked. Benny pointed to the corner. The agents turned around to see Bark sitting in the arm chair. "Are you Bark the polar bear?" Agent Two asked.

"Yes..."

Agent One straightened his tie. "Bark, the government needs your help."

* * *

**Alright, there was chapter one. Review and please don't flame!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: see last chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Mission Briefing**

At the moment, a million questions were running through Bark's mind. But, he only managed to squeeze out one... "_What?" _The polar bear asked, slightly confused. Why would the government be coming to him for this kind of stuff? This seemed like something that Sonic the Hedgehog should handle. The polar bear voiced his other thoughts, "Shouldn't you get Sonic for this? Or at least one of your agents?"

Agents One and Two exchanged glances. "Sonic the Hedgehog has been missing for months." Agent One explained, "And our other agents are all occupied with another threat."

"What threat?" Bark asked.

"It's confidential." Agent Two said, "We can't leak any information to you."

"Look, what do you want with me?" Bark asked defiantly, his hands automatically balling into fists.

The polar bear dropped his fighting stance, startled by the metallic thud of metal hitting wood ringing through the air as Agent Two dropped his briefcase none too gently on the ground. The agent dropped down on his knees and tapped the code into the briefcase's security lock. The locks clicked open, and Agent Two took out several charts, maps, and foreign equipment.

Agent One reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny black laser pointer. He turned it on, and the little red dot appeared on the map. Bark squinted his eyes in order to read the fine print that signified the building that the laser pointer was cruising around. It read, "Station Square Laboratory".

Agent Two shut his briefcase and stood silently next to Agent One. Agent One cleared his throat to speak, "At twenty-three hundred hours yesterday, Miles Prower checked into the laboratory. At one hundred hours this morning, the silent alarm was triggered and the police notified. When they arrived at almost two hundred hours, Miles Prower was gone."

Agent One continued, "Our sources tell us that you are one of the few known people who knew Miles Prower in his younger years. We need you to find him. We believe that he was working on something. If this 'something' fell into the wrong hands, the results could be disastrous."

Bark raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, "By wrong hands you mean...?"

"Robotnik." Agent Two whispered the word in the same manner as a young child word whisper a bad word.

"I see..." Bark said, "So GUN suspects that Dr. Robotnik kidnapped Miles Prower so he could gain access to the machine?"

Agent One briefly nodded his head, "Exactly."

Agent Two picked up where Agent one left off, "However, we do not believe that Dr. Robotnik was the one who kidnapped Miles Prower, seeing as the person reported was lean and nimble, and Dr. Robotnik bears the same shape as a basketball."

Bark resisted a snicker at the agent's comment. He had always found Dr. Robotnik's large size a source of great amusement. "Alright," the polar bear said, "So you want me to risk life and limb questing after a kidnapped scientist just so some invention doesn't fall into the wrong hands?"

"Yes," Agent Two said, "That's exactly what we want you to do."

"And what if I die?" Bark asked.

"In the likely event that you die," Agent One said, "You will be given a full burial, worthy of a hero, and we will make sure your family is very well off."

"I have no family." Bark retorted.

"In that case," Agent Two said, "All the better. You'll have no burden holding you back."

"Great..." Bark muttered.

Agent Two handed the polar bear what appeared to be a cell phone. "A cell phone?" Bark questioned.

"Incorrect," Agent One said, "It's a long distance walkie-talkie. Immediately notify us when you find Miles Prower, and we'll send a helicopter to pick you up."

"Exactly where am I going?" Bark asked.

Agent One pointed to the map with his laser pointer. "We have reason to believe that Robotnik's base is located somewhere in this area." He flashed the laser on a large green patch of territory. It was unmarked.

"As you can see, the territory is unmarked." Agent Two said, stating the obvious. "Therefore, you'll need this." The agent handed Bark a rolled up piece of parchment. The polar bear looked it over. It appeared to be a map. "It's a map." Agent Two told him, once again stating the obvious.

"I noticed..." Bark said.

Agent One handed the polar bear a black belt that looked like something an FBI agent would wear. "You'll also need this. It's stocked with your basic equipment: a gun, extra ammo, night vision goggles, a taser, a climbing rope complete with hook and grapple, a pocket knife, and a container of laughing gas."

"Laughing gas?" Bark asked slightly surprised. Laughing gas wasn't exactly something you would except to find in a high tech belt.

"We ran out of sleeping gas. We had to substitute it with laughing gas." Agent Two explained, "I assure you, it works just as well."

"This is all very dandy," Benny called from behind the counter, "But can you please get outta my shop? I'm gonna have costumers pouring in like crazy in couple minutes."

"Very well," Agent Two said, bending down to pack up his briefcase.

Agent One cracked his neck and then addressed Bark, "I, my comrade, and the rest of GUN wishes you luck on your mission. Good day." With those final words said, Agent One stepped out the door and into the foggy streets of Station Square. Agent Two clicked his briefcase shut, gave Bark a quick nod goodbye, and followed Agent One out the door.

Bark gave him a quick nod in return. The polar bear looked down at the belt in his hands. This was obviously going to be a difficult mission. He was definitely going to need extra help with this.

"Like I told you," Benny said, interrupting Bark's thoughts, "It's a conspiracy."

The polar bear grunted in reply. Benny raised a bushy eyebrow, "Your a quiet follow aren't you?" He asked.

Bark hitched his thumb back towards the door. "I'm gonna go now." He said.

Benny gave him a sloppy wave on his way out the door, "Alright, don't be coming back now. I don't want any more of them GUN officers in here."

Bark rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him. The street was still incredibly foggy, but the robot was gone. The polar bear squinted up at the sky. It looked like the swollen gray clouds could drop bucket loads of rain any second. He strapped the belt in his hands around his waist and cinched the clip. It was a tight fit, but there wasn't much Bark could do about that; the belt didn't get any looser. He tucked the rolled up map into one of the belt's loose pockets and placed the walkie-talkie besides it.

As he headed down the sidewalk, Bark could feel a long day coming on. His eyes scanned the street. The polar bear needed to find a certain place. A certain place where he could get the information he needed. _It's been a good six years, _Bark thought, _He could be dead, or he could have moved away, or maybe he got married and has a family. _Okay, scratch that last one. Bark couldn't picture his old friend with a wife and family.

The polar bear looked down both sides of the street, wondering where he would look to find the location of somebody. Bark knew he couldn't go to the police. They would ask questions. They would wonder while he had a belt containing high tech gadgets around his waist. No, the police station wasn't an option. Maybe he could go to the post office... After all, they might have records of his location.

Bark decided to give it a try. The polar bear's footsteps sounded heavier than usual against the metal steps that led up to the front door. Much to his relief, the sign hanging from the door read "open". The polar bear pushed the door open. It squeaked loudly, causing the man sitting behind the desk to look up from his paperwork. He was a balding, plainly dressed man probably in his mid sixties. When the man caught sight of Bark, he pushed his glasses up onto the ridge of his ski-jump like nose. "My, my. Aren't you a big fellow?" He asked in a mild tone.

Bark rolled his eyes. He already knew he was somewhat large. He was a polar bear for crying a bucket! "What can I do for you?" The man asked.

"I need you to help me with something." Bark said. The man folded his hands and stared up at the polar bear. Bark continued, "I was wondering if you could tell me an address."

"I'm sorry, sir." The aging man said, glancing somewhat warily at the gun in Bark's belt, "I'm not allowed to do that."

Bark drew in a long breath through his nose and exhaled loudly, "Look, buddy. I need this address. It's urgent."

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't help you." The balding man persisted, "Perhaps the police could help you. You should go down to the station-"

"I CAN'T GO DOWN THERE WITH A FREAKING GUN IN MY BELT!" Bark shouted. He could feel a vein in his head popping. Over the years, his temper had grown thin, and it sometimes showed in moments like these.

"Very well," the man sighed. The combination of a short temper and a gun was never a good one, "I'll see what I can do." He said, "What's this person look like?"

"He's a green duck." Bark began, "Um... he wears a red bandanna, and he likes bombs-"

"Bean the Dynamite?" The man interrupted.

"Yeah, how d'you know?" Bark asked.

The man raised his eyebrows, "How could I forget him. That freak came in here to pick up a package somebody sent him. He had a bomb with him, and I thought he was gonna blow us all to peices."

"Did you get an address?" Bark demanded.

"Yes I did." The man said. He opened up a drawer on his desk and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper. He quickly scribbled down the address and handed it to Bark.

"555 Emerald Drive?" Bark read. "Are you sure?" He asked the man.

He nodded, "I'm sure." He said confidently.

"Thanks." Bark said as he opened the door and walked out.

"No problem..." The man said meekly as the polar bear slammed the door shut.

Back on the sidewalk, Bark examined the paper. He knew the street. He had been down it before. The polar bear just hoped Bean would still be willing to help him out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it comes... Chapter 3!**

**Thanks to all my reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: see chapter one.

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

**A Friendship Rekindled**

By the time Bark reached Emerald Drive, the dark, swollen clouds had begun to drop bucketfuls of icy rain. The droplets flew through the polar bear's thick fur and stung his skin like a thousand tiny needles. Yes, this was indeed bad rain. Bark walked down the street, carefully examining each house's address. As he passed by house number 575, he could hear the vicious pounding of waves against the Emerald Coast. _This is really bad weather. _The polar bear observed. Station Square only saw weather this bad every couple years.

After what seemed like an eternity, Bark saw the gold numbers 555 dripping with rain water. Grateful for the shelter from the rain, he hurried onto the covered deck. Above him, he could hear the rain thundering against the metal awning that sheltered him; to Bark it almost seemed as if the rain was furious that it couldn't get at him. The polar bear pulled his attention from the rain to the door.

His old worries about Bean having a family returned, and he forced himself to swallow those thoughts along with the lump in his throat. It had been so many years since he had last seen Bean... _What if he doesn't recognize me?_ Bark shook his head. This was ridiculous. The polar raised his fist to knock on the door. He stopped, just mere inches away from the red paint.

_Why is it so hard for me to knock on his door? _Bark asked himself. The polar bear sighed and stared at the golden numbers that marked Bean's address. They seemed to smile at him, as if the were encouraging him to knock on Bean's door. _That was the dumbest thought I've ever had. _Bark realized.

Swallowing his fears once more, Bark closed his eyes and pounded his fist against the door. "Just a second!" Someone shouted from within the house, "I'm coming!" Bark could hear shoes hitting wood as someone, most likely Bean, ran to answer the door.

Bark heard the sound of pottery shattering and slowly opened one eye. Bean, looking almost exactly the same as he had all those years ago, was standing in the doorway, his jaw practically hitting the floor. _"Bark?" _The green duck asked, not even bothering to hide his surprise. "Wow... it's been years... What are you doing here? Here, come in!"

Wondering how to answer Bean's question, Bark stepped into the house. It was a nice house. The polar bear was actually mildly surprised. He hadn't expected Bean to be this well off. "Wow... you have a nice house Bean..." He complemented.

A goofy grin spread across Bean's face, bringing a tidal wave of memories back into Bark's mind. "Thanks! I like it too! It's gets kind of lonely here though... It's a big house for just one person. So where are you living?"

At first, Bark had felt relieved that Bean was still pretty much the same as he was many years ago, but no he felt embarrassed. _He _had always been the one who got the best of things while Bean was left to wallow in his own stupidity or ramble in a corner. But now, Bean had gotten the better end of life, while Bark had gotten a small apartment. It seemed almost unfair... "Um..." Bark could feel the shame, "...I'm living in an apartment..."

Bean frowned, "Oh..." The frown turned back into a smile, "That's okay I guess. It just matters if you like it!"

Bark shrugged, "I guess it's okay..."

"So why are you here?" Bean asked as he walked into the kitchen. Bark followed him.

"Actually... Bean, I need your help with something." The polar bear said as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"What?" Bean asked, only his lower body visible as he rummaged around his fridge. The duck took out two cans of soda and sat down across from Bark, sliding the polar bear one of the bubbly drinks.

Bark opened up the soda with a loud snap and took a quick sip. It had been a while since he had a soft drink, and the bubbles tickled his nose. He wriggled his nose around a little, trying to get rid of the tingling. When it didn't go away, he just decided to ignore it. "Well... um... you heard about Tails getting kidnapped right?"

Bean nodded vigorously, "Uh huh! Isn't it horrible?!"

Bark flipped his soda around and scanned the list of ingredients on the back. Much to his disappointment, he saw "caffeine" listed in between "sugar" and "dextrose", something Bark feared was fancy word for sugar. He set down the soda, "Yeah... it is... Anyways... this is going to sound really weird but, GUN wants me to find Tails. They think that Robotnik's behind it, and they don't want whatever Tails invented falling into his ugly hands."

"I don't understand," Bean said, confused, "Why don't they just get Sonic do this?"

Bark shrugged, "I asked the same thing. They told me that he had been missing for years."

"Do you think Dr. Robotnik finally destroyed him?" Bean asked.

Bark shook his head, "Robotnik never succeeded in killing Sonic before. I doubt he'd succeed in his later years."

Bean nodded in agreement, "Good point."

"So, because Sonic's missing," Bark began, "I have to chase after Tails, and I need you to help me..."

Bean flashed Bark a grin so big the polar bear was sure his face would break in two. "Of course I'll help you!" He shouted, jumping off the chair and running around the kitchen, searching for something. "Oh, won't this be great!" He yelled as he threw open drawers and gutted them out, "It'll be just like old times!" He cried, reaching into a cabinet and pulling out a belt similar to Bark's. He strapped it around his waist. "What do you think?" He asked.

Bark gave him a thumbs up sign, "Not bad, Bean."

The duck went back into the cabinet and brought out a canvas backpack. He started throwing cans of soda into it, followed by several bags of chips. Bark was about to point out that they would need more healthy food for their journey, but he knew that their was no point. If Bean was still the same as he was so long ago, then he probably wouldn't listen.

"Are you ready?" Bean asked excitedly, slinging the backpack onto the feathery back.

Bark pointed to Bean's clock. "It's barely eight o'clock. We don't have to leave right now. Besides, we don;t even know where we're going."

"You have a map don't you?" Bean asked the polar bear.

Bark took out the rolled up parchment and whacked Bean's beak with it. "Got it." He said.

"Lemme see!" Bean demanded. Bark handed his excitable friend the map. Bean unrolled it and pointed to the unmarked green area. "Is that where we're going?" He asked.

"Yeah..."

The duck sat back down at the table and unrolled it all the way. "Okay... here's Station Square..." he said as pointed to the tiny black dot that signified the city, "It looks like we need to take the train out of the city and go into the Mystic Ruins. Then we need to take the abandoned highway through this place here... What's that say?" Bean handed the map to Bark.

"Dry Lagoon," Bark said, taking control of the route planning. "Then..."

"Bark, why do we have to plan a route?" Bean asked, growing restless, "Can't we just find the route as we go?"

"Alright," Bark grumbled as he rolled up the map and stuck it back in the belt's pouch. "Let's go..."

"Yay!" Bean shouted with glee as he ran out the front door. Bark sighed and followed after him, shielding his eyes against the rain as he left the shelter of the awning. As Bark followed his friend down the street, he only had one thought... _Damn... I should've brought an umbrella. _

_

* * *

_**There it was, chapter three... now... REVIEW!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to my reviewers. **

**Disclaimer: See chapter 1.****

* * *

**

**Chapter 4**

**Angel Island Has Crashed Once More**

"So how long has it been, Bean?" Bark asked as he and the green duck sloshed their way down the water logged streets of Station Square, making their way towards the train station.

"Since what?" The duck asked, confused as usual.

Bark rolled his eyes, "Since I've last talked to you, duh. I know it's been a long time..."

"Let's see..." Bean began, counting off each digit on his hands, "I just turned twenty-five so..." He began counting his toes, "It's been thirty-six years! Wait..."

Math wasn't one of Bark's expertise, but simple problems were just his speed. The polar bear quickly did the math in his head. "It's been almost ten years. You were barely fifteen when we last talked."

"Oh..." Bean said, the simplicity of the math problem suddenly dawning on him. "So how old are you then?"

"It's been exactly ten years, Bean. I'm twenty-eight." Bark explained.

Bean made a face, "Dang, your old."

Bark narrowed his eyes, "Thanks Bean. Thanks a lot..."

"No problem, Bark." Bean said as they turned down a street. The duo found themselves in on a looping street. One side revealed the stormy, turbulent ocean, the other side consisted of a hotel complete with a parking garage, and finally, one the third side was the train station. Eager to get out of the downpour, the duck and the polar bear scaled the stairs and ducked into the station. Bark shook himself in a manner similar to that of a dog, scattering tiny droplets of water all over the tile floor. Weaving in between people, Bark motioned for Bean to follow him up the stairwell and to the train depot.

A young lady with platinum blond hair standing behind the ticket both waved the two of them over to her. "You need to buy your tickets, sillies."

Bark inwardly gagged. He hated bubbly, super-happy people like this lady. "Oh...When's the next train heading for Mystic Ruins leave?"

The lady swiveled her chair around and glanced at the schedule. "The next train leaves in five minutes."

"Great," Bark said reaching into his pockets, "We'll take two tickets."

The platinum blond lady punched some keys on the computer keyboard. "That will be..." The computer made some clicking and whirring sounds, "Twenty-five sixty-seven." She handed them their tickets.

Bark glanced apprehensively at the clock. Their train left in two minutes. The polar bear tossed several bills amounting to around thirty dollars at the lady. "Here!" Bark grabbed Bean by the arm, "Come on Bean the train's gonna leave in a minute."

"Wait!" The lady from the ticket both as Bark and Bean dashed up the stairs, "What about your change?"

"Keep it!" Bark shouted, dashing up the stairs. The polar bear released Bean's arm as the two of them skidded to a halt, the rubber soles of their shoes squeaking loudly on the tile. The arrived in the nick of time. The train's headlights bathed the platform in harsh yellow light as it chugged up through the tunnel.

"Train to the Mystic Ruins has just arrived," A voice stated over the intercom, "Please step away from the tracks and let the passengers exit. Thank you and have a nice day." With a faint click, the voice stopped, and the train squealed to a stop in front of the mob of passengers. The doors whooshed open; a stampede of people and creatures carrying briefcases, backpacks, or small children made their way off the platform, down the stairs, and out into the rain.

"Come on, Bean." Bark and Bean pushed past the last few stragglers and boarded the train. The two took a seat by the fogged up window. The train compartment had a strange, musty smell to it; it reminded Bark of feet. The polar bear looked at the seat next to him. Bean was sitting there, fiddling with a gadget clipped to his belt.

"So..." Bark said. Bean looked up from his belt. "How has everyone been in the last few years? You know... Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Fang... I haven't seen any of them in ages."

Bean shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't seen any of them in almost six years..." The duck admitted.

Bark was puzzled. "Huh?"

Bean sighed, "I don't know... About seven years ago, people began to gossip; they said Dr. Robotnik was planning one last thing before he kicked the bucket. They said he wanted to go out with a bang. About three months later, there were rumors of Sonic disappearing. Everyone assumed Robotnik had finally killed him. Amy... she told me that GUN had advised her and the others to go into hiding. Everyone left except for Tails and Knuckles. They said that they were never going to crawl away and hide. They wanted to find Sonic and stop Robotnik. Until I heard the news this morning, I hadn't heard anything about them in almost two years..."

Feeling slightly awkward, Bark placed a comforting hand on Bean's shoulder. "Well... um... maybe we'll find them when we're out looking for Tails."

Bean sighed once more and leaned back in his seat. "Yeah... maybe we will find them... I really hope so. I miss Amy. I even miss Fang..."

Bark closed his eyes, trying to picture his old friends. For a brief second, he could see Fang's smirk, hear Tails' high-pitched childish voice, and feel the pain of Amy's hammer between his ears. But the long years of them being absent from his memory took it's tool and the memories faded. "I miss them too Bean... I miss them too." The polar bear confessed. "But we'll see them again as soon as we rescue Tails and stop whatever Robotnik is doing."

Across the compartment, a shady looking purple coyote was leaning against the window, pretending to be occupied with the newspaper she loosely gripped in her hands. In reality, however, her ears were pricked forward, listening attentively to every word that Bark and Bean exchanged. She was doing exactly what she had been trained and ordered to do: dig up some dirt on what these two were doing. Her job complete, the coyote folded up her paper and carelessly tossed it onto the seat besides her. She kicked her feet up onto the railing, tipped her black leather hat forward, and shut her eyes to wait for the train to return to Station Square.

"Now approaching Mystic Ruins," The same voice as before called over the intercom, "Please wait for the train to come to a complete stop before exiting. Thank you and have a nice day."

Bark grabbed at the handrail and used it to pull himself out of his seat. The train's breaks screeched, and the compartment lurched forward, causing several passengers to stumble and grab for a rail or a hook. Sputtering in protest, the train rolled to a stop. The doors swooshed open; Bark and Bean fought through the exiting crowd until they felt the stinging drops of rain on their faces. Pushing through the mass of both people and creatures trying to board, the duck and the polar bear hurried down the rickety wooden stairs, taking great pains not to slip on the rain-slick wood.

Bark stepped off the last step, his foot squelching in the sticky mud. Bean followed him as he walked away from the people and towards a large hole in the side of a rock wall. In the dim light, it resembled the cavernous mouth of some great beast. The polar bear kicked the clinging mud off his shoes and gripped the first rock tightly in the hand. The rocks were dripping water, but Bark's gloves had a certain amount of grip, easing the climb.

After Bark had made it over the first couple of boulders, Bean followed. The duck's gloves were not as high quality as Bark's and failed to grip to the wet rocks. He kicked his feet, hoping to gain some ground, but the mud-caked shoes simply slid harmlessly off the granite boulder. "Bark, I need some help..."

Almost to the mouth of the tunnel, Bark doubled back, retracing his exact steps. The polar bear reached Bean and extended his hand. The duck grabbed it and held on tight as Bark pulled him up onto the boulder. "Step exactly where I step." He warned, making his way across the slippery rocks once more.

After several near falls, the duck and the polar bear finally found shelter in the gaping mouth of the rock tunnel. "That was a lot harder than it should've been..." Bark stated, staring down at the rocks below them.

Bean shrugged and scanned the tunnel ahead of him. All he could see was total darkness. "Hey Bark!" He called, causing the tunnel to reverberate with an echo. "Do you have any matches?"

"Yeah..." The polar bear wandered from the tunnel's opening and over to Bean. He reached into his belt's pocket and pulled out a packet of matches. "Here," he said, tossing the pack to Bean.

"Thanks!" The duck tore it open and struck it against the rough side of the box. The tunnel was instantly illuminated by the faint light. Bark followed Bean and the match down the tunnel, past some strange looking ice formation, and out into the rain once more.

"Damn..." Bark said, examining the scenery before them. All he saw was a strip of land, an iron gate leading somewhere, and a hulking shadow he suspected was some sort of hill. "I think we went the wrong way. I don't recognize this area... We probably should've taken that small little cart thing." The polar bear turned around to leave.

"Bark wait!" Bean shouted. The polar bear turned around. Bean was jumping up and down, pointing excitedly to the ground.

"What?" He asked walking back to his friend.

"I think..." The duck faltered, "I think... that we're standing on Angel Island..."

Bark examined the hill more closely. The more he stared at it, the more it began to look like a shrine. He shrugged, "I don't know... Let's go look..."

Bean silently followed Bark along a rickety wooden bridge. The whole place seemed to be holding it's breath as the duck and the polar bear neared the shrine. The only sound they could hear was the sound of raindrops hitting ground. Bark twitched his nose. The smell of wet dirt was getting to his nose a little... "Achoo!" He sneezed, shattering the silence like a bullet shattering glass. Behind him, Bean jumped in surprise. "Sorry..." The polar bear apologized.

Bean gave him a weak smile, "No problem..."

Bark looked up at the island. "Bean... come here..."

The duck walked over to his friend. "What?"

Bark motioned to the shrine, "We can't go any farther. There's a broken step so I'm going to throw you up there, okay?"

"Wait... what?!" Bean cried, flailing his arms as Bark grabbed him by the bandanna.

"One... Two... Three!" The polar shouted, throwing Bean up at the shrine with all of his strength.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no!" The duck cried as he flew towards the shrine. He made a rather undignified landing, his bottom whacking the shrine of the Master Emerald. "Ouch!" He shouted, rubbing the now tender area.

"What do you see!" Bark called from down below. "Is anyone over there?" He asked.

Bean looked around the area. He saw nothing but rocks, dirt, and an empty shrine. "There's no one up here!" He shouted back to Bark. "The Master Emerald's gone too!" The duck hollered. "Can I come back now?"

"Yeah..." Bark said from the other side of the broken step. "This is weird... Knuckles almost never leaves the island. Maybe he's on Red Mountain... or Ice Cap..."

"But he wouldn't take the Master Emerald with him if he was still on the island..." Bean said, beginning to get worried, "Maybe someone stole it and took him with them..."

"Or they killed him and dumped his body in the water." Bark said with a shrug.

Bean gasped in horror, "Bark! Don't say that!" He cried.

"What?" Bark argued, "It's possible..."

Bean sighed, "I doubt someone killed Knuckles, seeing as he probably would've broken every bone in their body... I'm coming back now so help me cross that broken step!" The duck called.

"Alright... come on..." Bark said, tapping his foot impatiently against the wooden step. The polar bear looked up as Bean neared the bridge. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. "Uh... Bean?"

The duck looked over at him, "Huh?"

Bark gulped. "There's someone behind you... and it's really huge..."

Bean slowly turned around. The duck's mouth went dry, and his heart nearly stopped beating. He screamed.

* * *

**Wow... my longest chapter ever... Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to my four reviewers. I appreciate you all taking the time to hit the little button and tell me what you think. (glares at all the other people who are reading and not reviewing)**

**Disclaimer: see chapter 1.****

* * *

**

**Chapter 5**

**The Master Emerald, Gone?**

"OH MY GOSH!" Bean screamed, looking up at the giant figure that towered over him, "IT'S A HUGE, BLUE BLOB THINGY!" The figure moved forward, making a sloshing noise similar to that of moving liquid. Bean turned to run but accidentally stepped on his untied shoe lace. The duck stumbled forward; his face landing in the rain soaked mud with a audible squelch.

"Bean!" Bark hollered from the other side of the broken plank, "It's right behind you. Get up and run!" The polar bear yelled, the bridge swaying precariously below him as he jumped up and down in apprehension.

Back by the shrine, Bean tried scrambling to his feet, but the thick mud weighted down his shoes. The only thing he could do was slid helplessly through the mud. From Bean's perspective, it appeared that the liquid blob was getting closer to him. "Bark! Help!" He shouted, churning the thick mud with his feet as he tried to run away. The duck finally managed to get to his feet. He proceeded to dash away towards the bridge, slipping several more times on his way.

"Are you okay?" Bark called to his friend as he neared the broken plank that would soon separate them from this liquid monster.

The green duck spat out a mouthful of mud. "I'm okay! Just help me across before that liquid thing gets me!" Bean extended his gloved hand to Bark. The polar bear stretched over to grab, trying desperately not to fall into the oblivion below him.

"Wait!" A voice called to them, surprising Bean and causing him to topple slightly to the side. "Please come back!"

"OH MY GOSH!" Bean shouted once more, "It talks! Help me Bark. Help me!" The duck screamed as he tried desperately to grab onto something.

Bark whacked Bean on his beak. "You idiot!" He criticized, "The liquid blob isn't talking. That's a female voice!" The bridge swayed dangerously to the left as Bean tried to steady himself.

"Oh..." He said, dropping down to his hands and knees as he tried to stop the bridge's swaying. He was beginning to feel a little nauseated from all the rocking. It was almost like being seasick...

Gradually the swaying of the bridge ceased. "Are you alright?" Bark squinted through the downpour. He could see an orange echidna standing at the edge of the bridge. She was wearing some sort of traditional attire, and she looked as if she was still young. Bark guessed she was around fourteen or fifteen.

"We're fine..." He said, looking up at the echidna. The polar bear steadied himself on the bridge, "Who the hell are you?" He asked in bewilderment.

"My name is Tikal," The echidna said, walking out onto the bridge. The blue liquid monster followed her.

"That thing is following you!" Bean shouted, pointing to the liquid thing as he sprung to his feet. In his excitement, he slipped on the loose board and fell flat onto his back. Tikal smothered a giggled and helped him back to his feet. Bark rolled his eyes, annoyed with Bean's clumsiness.

"It's okay," The echidna said, "His name is Chaos. He's the God of Destruction, but he won't hurt anybody." She explained.

"Hey..." Bean said, picking some more mud out of his feathers, "I've heard of Chaos... Aren't you two supposed to be living inside the Master Emerald?" He asked.

Tikal shook her head sadly, "Yes, but we were forced to leave..."

"What? Why?" Bark asked. This was all too puzzling for him. An echidna and a liquid monster that lived inside an emerald? Someone please give him an explanation...

Tikal looked around the shrine uneasily. "I can't tell you here..." She whispered softly, "...It could still be too dangerous..."

Bean looked at the shrine. Everything looked peaceful enough... The rain was pattering softly against the abandoned shrine, creating a soothing sound. The smell of wet earth wafted through the ground and up bean's nostrils. The duck sighed, lost in the wonder of it all... "Bean... Bean... BEAN!"

"Huh?" The duck said looking around in surprise, his peaceful illusion abruptly shattered leaving nothing but rain, mud, a polar bear, an echidna, and a liquid blob.

"Come back to earth Bean..." Bark instructed the spaced out duck.

"Oh... sorry..." The duck murmured. "Um, Bark, how are we going to cross the gap?" He asked. Bark examined the gap. It was about twice as wide as him and almost as tall. The polar bear pointed to the flimsy piece of rope that was holding the bridge together.

"You could walk on that..." He suggested. Bean looked down at the rope. It could have been a string of floss, to him it looked just as narrow. "Go ahead, Bean. Cross it." Bark urged.

The duck gulped apprehensively and slowly set one foot down on the rope. He put his weight on the rope; it swayed considerably, but held. He lifted up his other, wobbled, and sprang backwards onto the bridge. "Sorry, Bark. I can't do this." Suddenly, his stomach lurched forward as he felt two massive hands pummel into his back, pushing him across the gap. With a audible _thump_, Bean made a rather undignified landing face down on the other side of the bridge. "...Ow..."

"I'm sorry," Tikal said as she helped Bean back to his feet. The duck blinked several times, trying to clear his vision.

"It's okay... Wait! How did you get over here?" The duck asked. He pointed to the other side of the bridge, "I thought you were over there, but now your over here, and... WHAT THE?!" Bean pointed to Chaos, "How'd he get here? Wasn't he over there? Bark, I'm confused!" He shouted.

Bark rolled his eyes, "Since you were being a baby and not wanting to cross on the rope, Chaos brought you over; he's got freaky stretchy arms," The polar bear explained, "Then, he brought Tikal over. Then, he turned into a puddle and crossed on the rope because he has a backbone, unlike you..."

"No he doesn't," Bean exasperated, "He does not have a backbone; he's just a blob!" The duck crossed his arms in defiance.

"Whatever Bean..." Bark muttered, walking down the length of the bridge, "I'm not gonna stand here and argue with you over the anatomy of a blob..."

The green dynamite duck ran after his friend, his shoes hitting the wooden bridge with wet splashes that seemed to echo around the deserted island. "Wait Bark!" He called, "We don't even know where to go..."

"He's right!" Tikal said, running up to them with Chaos right behind her. "You could get lost if you don't know your way." The orange echidna said.

"Told you..." Bean whispered to Bark. The polar squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hands into fists. Just like old times, Bean was getting on his nerves... "Come on Bark. Tikal is gonna get us of the island and back to Mystic Ruins." At the sound of Bean's voice, Bark's eyes snapped open. The duck had walked past him; he, Tikal, and Chaos were waiting on the other side of the bridge.

His anger and frustration still smouldering inside his chest, the polar bear followed the trio past the rain-washed gate to Red Mountain and into the welcoming shelter of the tunnel. Bark stared up at the smooth dirt walls. They seemed so old... How long ago had they been made and by who...? For a brief second, the dirt walls seemed to be fogged by a mist, and for a brief second, Bark swore he saw a face etched in the fog. He blinked, clearing his head. _Great, now I'm seeing things... _

Realizing he was beginning to lag behind, Bark jogged up the tunnel to catch up to Bean and the others. "Did you notice anything odd about the walls?" The polar bear whispered to Bean, fervently hoping Tikal would not overhear him and suspect he was crazy.

Confusion written all over his face, Bean shook his head, "No... I saw a bug crawling on the ceiling, but nothing unusual. Why?"

Bark shook his head, forcing himself to forget the troubling image, "Never mind... it's nothing..."

Bean gazed up at Bark's troubled face, "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine..." Bark growled, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stiffen, "It's just... Something doesn't feel right. I can sense it; it's in the air. Can you feel it, Bean? It almost like the walls are watching us..." Anxiety and paranoia washed over Bark. The polar bear glanced up at the ceiling then over at the right and left walls.

"Bark..." Bean said, "You're starting to scare me..." The duck took a step away from his friend. "Are you sure your okay?"

Bark shook his head, "Sorry Bean; I'm alright, really. It just feels a little abnormal... It feels like there's something, something powerful around us." The polar bear said, trying to explain the strange tension he sensed all around him.

Bean stared at him skeptically. "I don't know..." the duck said, "I don't feel anything... except cold air and rain, that is." He added.

"Think about it, Bean," Bark whispered into the green duck's ear, "Think about it: we're following a _spirit and a monster who almost destroyed Station Square to a place we've never been to... _It's pretty suspicious." He concluded, "What if they're working for Robotnik, or what if they kidnapped Tails? Or..."

"Bark!" Bean shouted, causing Tikal and Chaos to turn around and look at them in bewilderment. "Uh... sorry..." The two turned back around and continued to lead the polar bear and the duck through the thick foliage of the Mystic Ruins. "You're acting crazy now." Bean hissed, "Tikal is trying to help us so knock it off!"

"I'm sorry Bean," Bark apologized, slightly shocked by the force that his friend had addressed him with, "This whole assignment thing is getting to my head... You're right... I'm acting a little crazy."

Bean sighed, "I know what you mean Bark, but if we're going to get to Tails and stop whatever Robotnik is up to, we need to work as a team and work with those around us."

Bark nodded in admiration, "Wow Bean... You're not the same scatter-brained, lunatic duck I knew all those years ago..."

Bean flashed the polar bear a goofy, lopsided grin, "Thanks Bark. Can we catch up to Tikal now, because we're falling behind." Their differences settled and all suspicions put to rest, Bark and Bean hurriedly followed Tikal and Chaos into a small cart.

"Where are we going?" Bark asked the echidna as he sat down on a narrow wooden bench.

"Back to the ruins," Tikal answered, "It might be the only place here that's still safe..." She said.

"Safe from what?" Bean asked her.

Tikal shook her head sadly, "I'm afraid I can't tell you here..."

"Why not?"

Bark whacked Bean on the top of the head, "Idiot! She just told you!" Bean rubbed the growing lump on his head and shot Bark an angry look.

"What was that for?!" He demanded, rising up out of his seat.

"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!" Bark roared at the duck, the conversation that occurred only several minutes ago completely gone from his mind.

"Oh..." Bean said, sinking back onto the wooden bench. The cart squealed to a stop, and Bark, Bean, Tikal, and Chaos exited the rickety metal device.

"Follow me," Tikal instructed as she walked to the edge of the cliff. Bark and Bean nervously followed her. Below them they could see a vast sea of rich, vibrant green foliage. In the distance, Bark could see the stone peak of a massive temple poking through the surrounding trees.

The orange echidna dropped down onto the side of the cliff, gripping the side of a rope and plank ladder. She scaled down the ladder, as if she had down it for years. Bark and Bean exchanged nervous glances. Neither was fond of heights and after their earlier experience, rope and planks. Finally, Bean shrugged and started down the ladder. Bark sighed and followed him, each plank creaking ominously under his weight.

The going was painstakingly slow. His clumsy hands would get tangled in the ropes and planks, or his feet would slip off a plank and cause him to wobble. The polar was quiet relieved to feel the firm ground under his feet once more as he dropped down onto the floor. Pausing only to catch his breath, Bark dashed through the forest after Tikal and Bean.

When he caught up to them, they were slowly walking down the dirt path, waiting for him to catch up. "Hey Bark!" Bean greeted, "Have trouble with the ladder?" Bark grumbled something inaudible as trudged along next to Bean.

"Where's Chaos?" He asked, realizing that something was missing.

"He doesn't like coming down here," Tikal explained, "He probably went back to Angel Island to wait for me."

Bark nodded, but said nothing. He and Bean continued to follow Tikal through a maze of dirt paths, trees, moss, and stones until they finally walked under a crumbling, moss covered stone arch. Towering above them was a enormous, crumbling stone temple. The stones were cracked, and moss had acted like a natural spackle, filling in the gaps. "Is it safe now?" Bark asked, feeling slightly impatient.

"Yes," Tikal said, "I'm sorry for leading you all this way, but I was worried that someone would try to follow us." The echidna sat down on the lowest step of the temple. Bean sat down besides her, while Bark elected to stand.

"And what makes you think we're safe here?" Bark asked skeptically.

"This is sacred ground," the young echidna explained, "It's protected by an ancient spell... If someone is seeking refuge, then this place would become hidden from sight by all with evil intentions." (A/N: I totally just made that up)

Becoming very impatient, Bark crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the ground, "Alright, so tell us what happened on Angel Island already!"

"Please." Bean added.

"It was about three hours before you two arrived," Tikal began, "I was doing what I do everyday: take care of the chao and Chaos. I was watching the rain fall, and I saw a strange cloaked figure appear in a flash of green light. The figure shouted something; a bolt of green light shot down from the sky and knocked Knuckles to the ground. With him gone, the figure made their way towards the Emerald and shouted something else. It felt... like I was being sucked through a hose. The next thing I knew, I was lying in the mud. I didn't want to get involved in any sort of fight so I hid while the figure stole the Emerald and vanished again. After that, the island crashed into the Mystic Ruins. Then you showed up..."

"What happened to Knuckles?" Bean asked once she had finished speaking.

"I don't know. I hope he's alright..." Tikal said, the worry in her voice obvious. "Without him, the Master Emerald could fall into the wrong hands and be used for unimaginable evil."

"Well," Bark began, "It probably already has fallen into the wrong hands."

Bean nodded in agreement, "I'll bet anything that Robotnik has it!"

"And if he does," Bark continued, "We'll get it back before it can be used for unimaginable evil."

* * *

**Like I said, expect long chapters from here on out. And now, I have to go attend to the second degree burn on my hand. OW!!! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Guess what? New disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I own no original characters. I only own my OC. (You knew they'd start appearing sooner or later...)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**The Kingdom of Lost Sands**

"I really appreciate you and Bean helping me with the Emerald." Tikal said to Bark as she led him and Bean the dynamite duck down an underground stone passage; the darkness illuminated only by the brightly burning light in Tikal's hand.

"No problem…" Bark muttered as he rather ungracefully banged his head against a low hanging stalactite. He ruefully rubbed at the offending lump in between his eyes. "I thought stalactites only grew in caves."

"They grow anywhere with dripping water," Tikal explained to him, "We're walking under a stream. The running water soaks into the ground and forms small pools. The pool water drips down and makes the stalactites."

"How come no one ever clears them away?" Bean asked, pushing his way in between Bark and Tikal.

"The passage to the abandoned hasn't been used since the days of my great, great grandfather." The echidna began, "Its location was passed down with each generation of echidna, but no one dared to venture onto the path."

"Why?" Bean asked, flinching nervously as something with more than four legs scurried past his foot.

"Well," Tikal explained, trying to remember the ancient story told to every generation of echidna, "Legend has it that the abandoned highway was a worn cobblestone path that ran through a vast desert. Somewhere down the path, an oasis is rumored to exist. The oasis was the gateway back to civilization, but what lay in between the Mystic Ruins and the oasis was and still is a mystery."

"What do you think is out there?" Bark asked her as he stumbled over a rock. He desperately wanted to be out in the light…

"I don't know," Tikal admitted, "My father always told me that another civilization had claimed power there. He said that it was a kingdom inhabited only by felines. There's someone named Big who used to live in the Mystic Ruins; I think he might be a descendant of someone from the city."

"What do you mean 'used to live'?" Bark asked the echidna.

Tikal sighed, "He vanished about six years ago along with the others."

"Him too?" Bean marveled from behind Bark. "Wow… almost everyone's left…" Tikal nodded in agreement. "Do you know where they went?" Bean asked her.

"No," she answer, "No one does… It's like they just vanished."

"Vanished…" The duck murmured to himself as he plodded silently behind Bark. Oh, how he wished he knew where everyone had gone. He longed to see Amy again. He hadn't seen her since that horrible day Sonic had disappeared. He hoped she was safe and somewhere with shelter from the rain.

"Hey," Bark said, interrupting Bean's thoughts, "Is that light down at the end of the tunnel?"

"Where!" Bean shouted, his angst forgotten at the mention of light and possible escape.

The polar bear pointed to a blotch of dull white light at the end of the seemingly endless tunnel. "There…"

"Oh…" Bean said, catching sight of the splotch.

Bark turned to face Tikal in the darkness, "Thanks for taking us here, Tikal, but me and Bean can take it from here. We promise that when we get the Master Emerald back, we'll bring it straight to you. We won't let anyone else touch it…"

"Thanks for all your help, Bark," Tikal said as she handed him the torch, "Good luck with saving Tails."

Bark nodded, "Thanks, we'll need all the luck we can get."

"Wait!" Bean said, looking at Bark then at Tikal, "How's Tikal gonna get back with out a light?" He asked.

As much as Bark hated to admit it, Bean had a point. He offered the torch to Tikal. "It's okay; I don't need it." The echidna said, giving it back to Bark. "I'm a spirit remember? I'll find my way, don't worry." She added with a smile.

"Oh… okay," Bean said, "Bye then!"

"Bye," Bark muttered, giving Tikal a halfhearted wave as she turned to walk back down the passage. As Bark led Bean down the remaining bit of the passage, he felt a pang of jealousy stab him in the heart. Tikal had a home to return to. It wasn't warm and sheltered from the relentless rain, but it was still home. She wasn't entering unknown territory on a dangerous quest to find an old friend before an out-of-his-head scientist disposed of him. In a way he envied her. He wanted to go back to his warm home and sit in front of a fire (Like he had a fireplace…). He wanted this whole thing to be over… Oh, well. At least he still had Bean.

"Hey, Bark!" Bean shouted from somewhere ahead of him, "Hurry up, you have to see this desert!"

Bark groaned. A desert? In the rain? He'd be picking wet sand out of his fur for ages… He sighed and trudged down the dimly lit tunnel until he stood next to Bean. "Oh… my… gosh…" He muttered as he gazed out at the storm washed desert before him. Dunes and dunes of pure white sand dotted the landscape. Winding its way through them was a well worn cobblestone path that seemed to stretch on forever.

Reluctant to leave the shelter of the dark stone tunnel, Bark hesitantly followed Bean out into the downpour. "You'd think the rain would've stopped by now…" The polar bear suggested as tiny drops of rain struck his skin like a thousand microscopic needles. In what felt like mere seconds, his fur was plastered to his body and wet sand squelched beneath his shoes. There was nothing he could except trudge silently through the rain alongside Bean.

"Do you think there's really a city out there?" Bean asked after a steady ten minutes of walking in the rain and wet sand.

Bark shrugged, "I don't know. I doubt it still exists after thousands of years. It probably would've been destroyed, conquered, or just faded away..."

"What if it did still exist?" Bean asked, kicking at a clump of sand. Part of him hoped it still existed. It would be nice to make contact with someone; even if they were from a totally different culture.

"I seriously doubt it." Bark grumbled. "We have a better chance of seeing Nack out here than we do finding some strange, foreign-"

"Hey look Bark!" Bean shouted, interrupting the polar bear. He was jumping up and down, excitedly pointing to a purple figure on the path ahead of them. "It's Nack!"

"You're seeing things, Bean." Bark growled, blinking rainwater from his eyes. "What would be Nack be doing out in a desert no one's ever heard of in the middle of a storm?"

Still persistent, Bean was pointing excitedly to the purple figure. "I'm telling you, Bark. That's Nack!"

Bark sighed and squinted through the rain at the purple figure on the horizon. It did look a lot like Nack... Not only was it purple, but Bark could see a the dim silhouette of a hat on it's head. "Hm... Maybe it is Nack." He said at length.

"Told you." Bean said with faint trace of smugness in his voice. Bark rolled his eyes.

"I said it might be him," He grumbled, "I never said it definitely was him..." Shielding the rain from his face, the polar bear squinted at the purple figure again. The more looked, the more he was certain it was Nack. But the more he looked, the more he could see the two menacing shadows towering over him. "Well," Bark said, "If it is Nack, he's in trouble. Let's go." He grabbed Bean by the arm and half dragged half led him down the path towards Nack.

As the two of them neared the purple weasel, it became obvious that two brutish looking cats were standing over him. Their cloths were unusual; they looked like an outfit belonging to some ancient culture, but nothing like Tikal's cloths had been. Neither of the brutes were wearing shoes, and their brown furred sinewy feet blended in perfectly with the cobblestone path. Covering their overly muscled legs was a long skirt with a overhanging flap made of leather. Each had a dagger strapped around his waist with a snakeskin belt; they also carried spears. Their chests were bare, revealing multitudes of scars from battles fought long ago.

"Don't hurt me!" Bean shrieked, ducking down and covering his face and neck in defense.

Ignoring bean, Bark faced the first of the brutes. "What do you want with the purple one?" He asked, motioning to Nack with a wave of his hand. The weasel grumbled something inaudible.

"He is to be taken to the Kingdom of Lost Sands as a slave for her majesty, Princess Ranakan." The brute growled, his harsh yellow eyes glaring at Bark.

"What!" Nack shouted from his position on the ground.

The polar bear shook his head, "No, that's gonna work for me."

The second brute looked troubled, "Why? What you want with sleazy weasel?" He asked, scratching at his thick head.

"Um..." Bark stammered, trying to think of a reason that these two would except.

The first brute elbowed his companion in the ribs, "The sleazy one must be his slave..." He whispered.

"But that would mean he's a king..." The second brute whispered to the first. "We must take him to Princess Ranakan."

The first brute nodded in agreement, "She would be delighted to have his company." He growled. He turned back to Bark. The polar bear was still standing in the same spot, staring up at them. Beside him stood Bean and Nack. "Alright..." the brute growled, "We will release the sleazy one if you and your other servant will come with me."

"Servant?" Bean repeated to Bark as the two of them and Nack followed the brutes.

"Just play along." Nack hissed at the duck. "These freaks are the real deal. They're guards from the Kingdom of Lost Sands." The weasel explained, "Anyone who wanders into their kingdom's boundary is taken as a slave. If they think your a king, play along."

"Okay... I guess it wouldn't hurt..." Bark muttered. He cracked a rare smile as a sudden realization dawning on him. "Nack, if your my slave then you should be following me." The polar bear pushed the weasel back between him and Bean.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Nack shouted at Bark.

The polar bear shrugged, "If they think your my slave, you might as well act like one. Unless you want your head chopped off..."

Nack crossed his arms in defiance and grumbled something inaudible at Bark's back. "I heard that." Bark warned, despite the fact that he hadn't heard a word Nack said.

Whispering among themselves, the brutes lead Bark, Bean, and Nack through a pair of tall, thick wooden gates and into the city. It was far more magnificent than Bean had imagined. A single cobblestone path ran through the city and up to a huge palace. Scattered alongside the road were various booths stacked with exotic and unfamiliar fruits, coconuts, tubers and roots, water, milk, juices, herbs, healing potions, daggers and swords, candies, and bread. Citizens of the city, all cats, bustled around the markets, shopping for food and any other vital items they would need for their families. As Bark and the other two followed the two brutes down the cobblestone path, the shoppers would turn to stare at them, and little ones would shout at the sight of them.

"Well, aren't we popular?" Nack hissed in Bark's ear. The polar bear elbowed him in the stomach.

"Quiet..." He muttered, "Don't say anything, Nack. You too Bean. Just let me do all the talking..."

"Hello Butch!" A tan cat ran up to the brutes and greeted the first of them. He was dressed similar to Butch and the other brute. But he had considerably less muscle, and he looked much younger. "And you too, Brutus." He said, bowing slightly to the other brute guard.

"Hello Sven," Butch greeted the younger cat guard, "How are things at the palace?"

"Very good," Sven reported. He spotted Bark, Bean, and Nack standing behind Brutus and Butch. "Shall I'll alert her majesty that more slaves have arrived?"

"No, no..." Brutus said, shaking his broad head, "Tell her she has visitors. This man," He motioned to Bark, who tried to look regal and important, "is a king. This is his servant and his slave."

"Is there a difference?" Bean whispered to Bark.

"Yeah, one sounds nicer." Bark muttered back to him.

"Sven," Butch said, "Could you please escort these three too the palace?"

Sven gave Butch a stiff bow, "Yes sir. Shall I show them the slave compound on the way?"

Butch waved Sven away with his hand, "Sure, why not. I'm sure the king will enjoy seeing it."

"Very well." Sven turned to Bark as Butch and Brutus walked away, "Please follow me, your majesty." The tan cat said, giving Bark a brief bow.

Unsure of what to do, Bean glanced nervously at Nack. The weasel shrugged and followed Bark and Sven. The tan cat silently lead them up the path and to the gates of the palace. Seeing Sven, two guards hurried to open the gates up for them. The trio followed Sven down the cobblestone path and into a magnificent garden. A fountain depicting three hedgehogs stood in against the wall alongside a bench carved from jade. The gurgling water mixed with the chirping of birds and created a peaceful atmosphere. Lilacs, irises, and roses bloomed all around the path. A beautiful weeping willow draped onto the path, temporarily obscuring the rain. "Wow..." Bean whispered to Bark, "Even in the rain, this place is amazingly beautiful..."

Bark nodded in agreement, "It is..." As Sven, Bark, Bean, and Nack approached the heavy, gold plated oak door, yet another guard saluted before he opened up the door. The four stepped inside, all of them more than happy to get out of the rain. The main lobby of the palace was breathtaking. The floors were composed of black marble, and the walls were covered in painting and ancient tapestries depicting the history of the Kingdom of Lost Sands. In the corner of the room was an open door leading outside.

"What's that?" Bean asked, pointing to the door.

"The slave compound." Sven grunted, "Would you like to see?" As much as Bark disapprove of the enslavement of others, he rectulently followed Sven to the door. The tan cat kicked it open the rest of the way, revealing a section of the garden. This section was much cruder, however. The grass was beginning to wilt, and there were no flowers blooming. The only shelter from the rain was a small tin roof built over a corner of the compound. Miserably huddled under the roof was an armadillo, a flying squirrel, and a hedgehog.

Bean quietly nudged Bark in the ribs, "B-Bark..." He stammered.

"What?" Bark asked quietly.

Bean pointed to the hedgehog, "Isn't that Amy?" He asked at length.

Bark stared at the hedgehog, "Huh... I guess it is... Well, now we know where they went."

"Bark!" Bean hissed urgently, "She's our friend. We have to help her!"

"I know... I know..." Bark whispered back as Sven lead them away from the door, across the lobby, and up a flight of stairs. "I'll do whatever I can, Bean..." The polar bear promised as Sven halted at a door guarded by a huge, overly muscled cat.

"What's your business with Princess Ranakan?" He growled through his thick whiskers.

Sven bowed to the whiskered cat, "A king and his two servants have come to see her."

The cat glared at Bark, Bean, and Nack from beneath his prominent eyebrows. "What for?" He asked.

"I... I was not told, sir." Sven answered.

The cat growled something under his breath, but stepped aside and opened the door for them. Sven lead Bark and the other two into a room displaying incredible wealth. The tan cat lead them around a table laden with uneaten food, past a bed covered with silk pillows and satin sheets, and up to a throne. Perched on the velvet cushioned throne was a black cat clothed in a flowing purple skirt with amethysts and crystals sown into the fabric, a short white top that showed most of her belly, long white gloves extending to her elbows, and gold sandals. Bark thought she looked incredibly royal, despite the fact that she wore only a gold circlet as a crown. The black cat narrowed her eyes at Bark, Bean, and Nack.

"What do you want?" She growled menacingly. "Sven, you may leave..." The tan cat bowed and backed out of the chamber.

"Well?" she asked Bark, "What do you want? Why are you hear?"

"Um..." Bark stalled for time, trying to think of why he was here, "My name is Bark... Uh..." He glanced at Bean and Nack for support. They shrugged. What a great help they were... "Um... I rule over the kingdom known as Station Square..."

Princess Ranakan clapped her hands in mock delight, "Why didn't you say so? I've wanted to met the 'King' of Station Square for years..." She said with a faint sneer.

Bark breathed a sigh of relief... Despite the sneer, he felt as if he had just dodged a major bullet, but how long would it be until it came back around to get him again? "You must tell me all about your kingdom..." She mocked, jumping down from her throne.

Bark finally got a good look at her. She appeared to be about two years younger than himself, and she looked very uncomfortable in the skirt and sandals. Princess Ranakan motioned to the table, "Please sit and eat. While you eat, tell me how you got here and where you're going..."

Feeling slightly uneasy, Bark sat down at the table alongside Bean. There was something odd about this princess... How had she known Bean and Nack weren't servants, just friends? She seemed far to normal for Bark to just sit down and eat in ease... But his growling stomach finally won over his suspicions. The polar bear grabbed a biscuit and crammed it in his mouth. As he chewed, he wondered what was so strange about this princess, and he wondered how he was going to free the slaves and escape with his life...

* * *

**Well, there was chapter six... Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: see last chapter.

* * *

**

**Chapter 7**

**Out the Window**

"...And that's how we ended up here." Bark said as he finished explaining the basis of their adventure to Princess Ranakan.

Uninterested, the cat princess gave him a brief nod. She snatched a fig off of a gold platter and flopped down in a chair across from Bark, Bean, and Nack. "...I knew you weren't royalty." She sniffed. The pit of unease still sitting in his stomach like a dead weight, Bark couldn't help but notice the air contempt in her tone. Just because she was the princess of some forsaken kingdom didn't mean she had to be a brat about it. "I've been outside my kingdom before," She continued, the pride in her voice obvious, "I've been to Station Square, Central City, and Westopolis. I know that no one individual rules those cities." Princess Ranakan muttered, popping the rest of the sticky fig into her mouth.

Next to Bark, Bean grabbed another biscuit, cut it open, and spread some butter on it, "Do you like being royalty?" He asked as he reached for the honey.

"Of course I do." Princess Ranakan answered as if it was the most idiotic question she had ever heard. "The only downside," She said, curling her lip in contempt at Nack, "Is dealing with low lives like your friend here..."

Bark glanced over at Nack. The greedy weasel was packing biscuits, figs, nuts, and candied fruits into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in years. "...But when you jumped down from your throne looked uncomfortable wearing a skirt." The polar bear stated, turning his attention back to Princess Ranakan. "Aren't royals supposed to be comfortable in those kind of things?"

The princess dismissed his question with a wave of her gloved hand, "I only wear skirts for special occasion such as feasts, festivals, or when dealing with new slaves."

"And your wearing one today because...?" Bark questioned, grabbing a biscuit and smearing it with butter and honey. The polar bear crammed it into his mouth and licked the crumbs off his fingers. Princess Ranakan shuddered with distaste.

"Today," she continued, "I have to deal with three new slaves. Although I was told to expect four..." She said, shooting a glare in Nack's direction. The purple weasel shrugged and reached for another fig.

"About those slaves..." Bark began, feeling slightly uneasy asking this question, "We'd appreciate it if you would let them free."

Princess Ranakan threw back her head and laughed in a very un-royal manner as if Bark's question was the funniest joke she had ever been told. "Why?" She asked with a chuckle as she recovered her temporarily lost dignity.

"Well," Bark said, his unease settling back to the pit of his stomach, "One of them is our friend, and we'd appreciate it if you would let her and the other two go free."

The princess laughed raucously once more, "No!" She managed to gasp out in between laughs, "I need them here at my kingdom. End of story..." As she finished speaking, a loud knock sounded at the door. "Now if you excuse me... I have to answer the door."

Bean and Nack went on eating as the princess walked to the door, her skirt swishing around her shins and her tail held up haughtily in the air. Curious at to what was going on, and wondering if it had anything to do with Amy and the other two, Bark refrained from eating another biscuit and kept a watchful eye on Princess Ranakan and the door. Apparently irritated, she threw open the door, allowing Bark to catch a glimpse of Butch, Brutus, and three much smaller figures standing in the doorway. "Sorry, your highness," Brutus grumbled. Thankfully his voice was loud enough for Bark to hear the conversation clearly, "We knew you had company, but Fisk said their was no other time to do this."

"Very well!" Princess Ranakan snapped, "Bring them in then..."

"Yes, your highness..." Butch said, leading in the three slaves. The flying squirrel looked as if he had just been woken up from a nap, while the armadillo and Amy looked more alert. Bark tried getting her attention, but her back was turned to the table.

"Here, try this." Bean suggested, handing him a biscuit, "I hate to waste food, but this is urgent!" Bark quickly thanked him and threw the biscuit at Amy. It was a perfect throw, and it struck her on the back of the head. She whirled around, looking for the person responsible for hitting her with a biscuit. "Hi, Amy!" Bean whispered loudly. Fortunately, Princess Ranakan was too busy yelling at Butch and Brutus to notice anything.

"What are you guys doing here?!" She whispered back, trying to keep her voice low despite her surprise.

Bark shrugged, "We don't know... but we're working on a plan to get you and those other two out of here..." He added.

"We are?" Nack asked, skeptically.

"Yes..."

"Since when?" The weasel asked.

"Since now, so shut up." Bark snapped at him. Nack shot him a dirty looked and considered giving him the finger. He decided against it, however, and turned back to snacking on biscuits and fruits.

Amy opened her mouth to speak to Bark, but was interrupted by Princess Ranakan. The cat princess had finished yelling at her rather unfortunate guards and had begun to address the three gathered in front of her. "You were all found on within my kingdom's boundaries so you have been brought here..." Bark began to tune out Princess Ranakan's speech. He scanned every inch of the room, searching for any possible escape route. There was always the door... but then again, there was always that guard on the other side. The window maybe... No, they were too high off the ground. This was going to be harder than Bark had first anticipated...

Suddenly, another knock sounded at the door. "What?!" Princess Ranakan shouted, furious at having her speech interrupted. She threw open the door, nearly knocking it off its hinges.

Two guards that Bark didn't recognize stumbled in, half dragging, half fighting a female cat with features similar to the princess. Her fur, blacker than night, was the same shade as Princess Ranakan's but much more frayed and tattered. Bark could see scars running along the side of her face. He seriously doubted she was related to the princess...

"We caught her stealing food from a vendor again, you highness." The first guard explain as he tried to pin the scruffy cat to the ground.

"I don't have time for this..." Princess Ranakan muttered.

Extremely acrobatic, the black cat maneuvered out his grip. The second guard lunged for her. Seeking escape, the cat ran for the window by the bed, slipped on a loose hanging sheet, and toppled backwards into pool of fresh drinking water. As the two guards hauled the dripping wet cat out of there, Bark got an excellent idea.

"Hey Bean," Bark whispered to the duck, "Do you know where that drinking water comes from?" Bean shook his head, "It comes from down in the courtyard. It's probably pumped up through a tunnel."

"Do you think we could get out that way?" Bean asked, finally catching onto what Bark was saying.

"It's worth a try." The polar bear said, "But we'll need a distraction."

"I have an idea," Bean whispered to Bark, "It's pretty stupid, but it just might work." The duck grabbed the empty plate next to him and pulled off a loose gemstone. He handed it to Bark.

"What's this for?" The polar bear asked.

Bean pointed to the guard standing near the door, "Chuck this at him, as hard as you can!" The duck whispered.

"This is your genius plan?" Bark asked skeptically.

"Yep!"

"Well it's better than what I was thinking of." The polar bear confessed as he threw the gemstone at the guard. The brute yowled in pain and surprise as the stone hit him in the ear.

"Why d'you throw that at me?!" He asked the other guard, throwing the stone at him. It hit him in the nose.

"I didn't throw anything at you, stupid!" The guard shouted, rubbing his tender nose.

"So now you're calling me stupid?!" The first guard demanded, taking a step closer.

"Maybe I am!" The second guard shouted, also moving in.

"That's it!" The guard shouted, throwing a punch at his companion. As the two guards went at each other, punching and kicking, Princess Ranakan shouted for order. Her order was, of course, ignored. She squealed with fright as the two guards crashed into the wall, still punching each other. Seeking safety from the fight, she dove behind her throne like a frightened kitten.

By now, Bark, Bean, and Nack were out of their seats and dashing towards Amy and the other two. "What did you guys do?!" Amy asked as she watched the fight between the two guards. By now, the room was mess. Food had been spilled onto the floor, water splattered the tiles, and the wall was dented from the fight.

"We threw a rock at the guard!" Bean declared proudly.

"Well, whatever works." Amy said with a shrug.

"Where'd that black cat go?" Bark asked, looking around the room.

"Who cares..." Nack muttered over the commotion, "Can we leave now?"

"We can't just leave her here," Bark said.

"Sure we can," The weasel replied, making his way across the dirtied tiles and towards the pool of drinking water. He stood at the edge of the pool, staring through the crystal clear water. The pool looked like it was only about three feet deep. Nack could see the drain at the bottom. It looked pretty narrow, maybe too narrow for a scrawny purple weasel to fit through...

"You can't go that way." Nack jumped at the sound of a voice behind him. Expecting to see either Princess Ranakan or one the guards, he whirled around. Instead, the black cat the guards had dragged in was smirking at him. "They close the drain during the rain." The black cat explained, "That wasn't an intentional rhyme by the way." She added.

"Well, then how do we escape?" Amy asked as she, Bark, Bean, the armadillo, and the flying squirrel walked up next to Nack.

"Jump out the window," She said as casually as if she had told them to walk out the door.

"Out the window?!" Bark repeated as he and the others followed her over to the square hole in the wall, "Are you mad?!"

She shrugged, "You wanna stay in here? Sooner or later those idiots are gonna realize that were escaping."

Bark was exasperated, "Yeah, but do we have to go out the window?" He asked.

"It does seem at little extreme," the armadillo added as he stared through the window and down at the streets several stories below his feet. Wow, from up here the people looked like ants.

The black cat rolled her eyes, "Please. It's easy. I'll go first then you guys follow me." With no other options, Bark was forced to agree. "Alright," the cat said, jumping up onto the window sill. "Someone hand me a rock or something sharp."

Amy handed her Piko-Piko hammer to the cat. "Will this work?"

The cat swung the hammer and bashed in the glass window, spraying shards of glass all over the floor. "Yeah, it worked." She said, handing the hammer back to Amy. "Now, watch and learn." In the blink of an eye, the black cat jumped out of the window and vanished into thin air.

"Oh my gosh!" Bean shouted, "She actually jumped! What if she gets hurt?"

Bark shook his head and pointed down the side of the wall. "She's right there." He said. The cat was perched calmly on a flagpole jutting out of the adobe wall. She caught sight of Bean and Bark and saluted them before grabbing the flagpole with both hands and swinging down. She caught one of the palace's banners and shimmied down it like a rope. The agile cat dropped down onto the next window sill, grabbed the flower box, and vaulted down onto a overhanging canopy. From there, she tumbled off it and landed nimbly beside a statue of Princess Ranakan.

The armadillo shook his head in admiration, "She's good. There's no way I could do that."

"Me either," The flying squirrel said. The others agreed.

"Hold on," Amy said, "Why couldn't Bean and Ray fly us down?" She asked.

"Who's Ray?" The green duck asked. The golden furred flying squirrel pointed to himself. "Oh," Bean said.

"Well..." Bark began, "Bean can fly down me and Amy, and Ray can fly down the armadillo guy..." The others exchanged doubtful glances.

"Can Bean fly?" Amy asked, feeling slightly nervous about the whole predicament.

Bark shrugged, "I don't know. He's a bird, and from my experience, birds fly."

"I sure hope so..." Amy said.

"Bark, can I fly?" Bean asked the polar bear.

"For your sake you better..." Bark muttered as Bean climbed up onto the windowsill. Amy grabbed onto the duck's ankles, and Bark grabbed onto Amy's shoes. The three of them were crammed in the window in a rather awkward manner.

"Here goes nothing..." Bean muttered, kicking off from the window sill. For a brief moment, the three of them seem to hang in the air, but gravity kicked in and they began to plummet towards the ground. Amy shrieked in surprise as a sudden gust of rain-laded wind hit her in the face.

"Flap your arms you idiot, flap!" Bark shouted from the very bottom of the line. "Flap or else we'll die!"

"I'm flapping, I'm flapping!" Bean shouted, waving his arms up and down furiously.

"You're not flapping, you're waving! Flap!" Bark shouted as he was buffeted wildly by the wind and rain. The polar bear's stomach seemed to rise up into his throat as he felt himself falling faster and faster. Suddenly, just as he thought he would hit the ground and die, he began to gently rock through the air. "Am I dead?" He asked, slowly opening his eyes.

"I'm flapping Bark! I'm flapping!" Bean shouted from up above. Bark breathed a sigh of relief as he drifted down towards the ground. A little ways off to the left, Ray and the armadillo were flying smoothly down to earth.

"Well, at least we're not dead..." Bark observed as Bean made a rough landing besides the black cat.

"Yeah, for a second there I thought you were going to crash..." Ray said as he and the armadillo landed.

"HOLY HELL!!!" Nack shouted from back up in the palace. "Someone come back for me! They finally realized we were escaping!"

"There's no time!" Bark hollered up to him, "You'll have to do what the cat did!"

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Nack shouted back, "I'll kill myself!"

"It's either that or get captured!" Bark shouted.

"Fine!" Nack yelled. Bark could see him climbing into the window frame. The wind buffeting his face, Nack closed his eyes and said a quick prayer before making a wild leap.

"Grab the flagpole!" The armadillo shouted from the ground. Nack maneuvered through the air towards the flagpole, but his timing was off. Instead of his hands hitting it, his whole body smacked into it. Like a bolling ball, he tumbled down the side of the palace, bypassing the banner and hitting his bottom on the flower box. He slid down from there, broke through the canopy and, legs spread out and flailing madly, he landed on the statues head in very awkward (and painful) position...

"Ouch... that's gotta hurt..." Ray snickered as Nack slid down the statue and landed in a whimpering heap on the wet, sandy ground.

"Come on, Nack." Bark said, grabbing the unlucky weasel's wrist, "We have to get out of here before they send the guards after us."

"Come on. Follow me," The black cat said as she took off running down the street.

"Wait up!" Bean shouted as he and the others ran after her (or in Nack's case, hobbled). The six of them followed the cat down the cobblestone path, weaving in and out of booths. The citizens hurled insults and curses after them as they stumbled into the booths, spilling milk, fruits, and other goods. Bark could hear the guards' feet pounding madly against the stones as they charged after them.

"Hurry up, Nack!" Bark shouted to the lagging weasel. When he received no reply, he turned his head to find Nack. The sleazy weasel had found a bag filled with money; it must have fallen off one of the wrecked carts. "Forget the money!" He hollered, skidding to a halt. "The guards are chasing us! Come on!"

"No!" Nack yelled back, "I'm not leaving with out the money!" The purple weasel tried picking up the bag, but toppled backwards under the weight. _Forget it, _Bark thought, _If he's too greedy to leave the money and run, then I'll not waiting for him. _The polar bear shook his head in pity and ran after the others, ignoring Nack's shouts of dismay as the guards caught up to him.

Up ahead, the black cat was leading them through the gate and into the desert. "Forget it!" Bark heard a guard shout, "We got one; I'm not following the others any farther." With a sigh of relief, the polar bear hurried to catch up to Bean, Amy, Ray, and the armadillo.

"Where's Nack?" Amy asked as Bark jogged up to them, gasping for breath.

"The guards got him..." He panted, not bothering to explain the whole story to Amy.

"You should be safe out here," The black cat said as she leaned against a rain slicked rock, "I suggest you go back the way you came..."

"What about you?" Ray asked, "Aren't you gonna come with us?"

The black cat rolled her eyes, "Please, I've got better things to do than play guide to some lost fools..." She wiped the wet sand off of her khaki cargo pants, "I'm outta here." The cat said, leaping over the boulder and vanishing in the jumble of rain, wind, sand, and rock.

"Great, where are we gonna go now?" Bark asked, slumping against the boulder.

"Back to the hideout..." Amy answered, turning back onto the path.

"The what?" Bark asked curiously, following her back to the sand covered cobblestone path.

"After Sonic vanished," The pink hedgehog began, her voice small and sad, "Me and Cream the Rabbit decided that it wasn't safe for us to stay in Station Square anymore, because what if one of us vanished next? We talked to the others and me, Cream, the Chaotix, Big the Cat, and Vanilla the Rabbit packed are bags and left. We knew that there was an abandoned GUN base in a place known as Dry Lagoon. So we went there only to find a group of hedgehogs living there already. They let us stay with them and we lived there for five years. Last year," She continued, "I went back to Station Square to try to convince Tails and Knuckles to come with us. They refused to go into hiding like some scared animal; they wanted to find Sonic at whatever costs."

Amy paused to take a breath, "After trying to talk to them, I went to Westopolis; someone told me I could find Shadow the Hedgehog there, and I wanted him to come back with me. He wasn't there, so I went back to Dry Lagoon. This morning I was going back to the Mystic Ruins to get to Angel Island when those cat freaks stopped me and made me come with them. That's when I met Ray the Flying Squirrel and Mighty the Armadillo, old friends of the Chaotix."

"So they're coming back with you?" Bark asked, plodding alongside Bean and Mighty.

"Yeah, I was hoping you and Bean would stay for a while too," Amy said.

Bark yawned, "We'll stay, but only for a couple hours."

"Why?"

"I'll explain to once we get there," Bark yawned, "And after I've slept."

* * *

**Jeez, I thought I'd never be done with this chapter... Anyways, please review and expect a lot of hedgehogs next chapter. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC. All original Sonic characters are owned by Sega. Ciel, Gemini, Eno, and Varahki are owned by Ciel the Hedgehog.****

* * *

**

**Chapter 8**

**League of Extraordinary Hedgehogs**

From his vantage point on the cliff's edge, Ciel the Hedgehog shielded his eyes from the bright sunlight as he stared out across Dry Lagoon and gazed at the rain clouds in the distance. Too bad the clouds never made it this far. Dry Lagoon could use some rain; the dust here was here was horrible. It rose up from the ground with every step Ciel took and clung to his black and yellow streaked fur. The hedgehog blinked the dust from his eyes as he walked back to the abandon GUN base that was serving as a temporary home for him, his brother Gemini, Eno, and his brother Varahki. Well, it wasn't just their home anymore. Now they were also harbouring Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Big the Cat. Which was just fine by Ciel. "The more the merrier!" Had been his response when Amy asked if she and the others could stay with them. The actual truth was that it got kind of lonely at the base. His only company was Gemini, who wasn't exactly the friendliest guy out there, Eno, who was always to busy to talk to Ciel, and Varahki, who was always either flirting with the only three resident girls at the base, or looking at plants. So Ciel was actually quiet glad for the extra company. There was always someone to talk to, always someone to watch a good spy movie with, and always someone to share his thoughts with.

"Hey Ciel," Gemini greeted his brother from his seat, which was actually an over-turned orange crate, in front of the television. As usual he was playing video games with Charmy. Gemini had also found companionship when the others had arrived; Charmy Bee was more than happy to play video games with the hedgehog. Ciel glanced at the screen as he walked by. From the looks of things they were playing Final Fantasy again.

The black and yellow hedgehog walked into the next room. Sitting at a table built of old peices of wood was Eno, a yellow and blue partially robotized hedgehog in his late teens, and his brother Varahki, a brown and green hedgehog about seventeen years of age. It appeared that Eno was trying to fix Varahki's MP3 Player. "Hey Ciel!" Varahki waved.

"Hi, Varahki. What happened to your MP3 Player?" Ciel asked the brown and green hedgehog.

Varahki grinned sheepishly, "Well, uh... It's a long story..."

"He was listening to it while showing off for Cream, and he fell on his face and broke it," Eno interrupted smoothly, screwing a tiny screw back into place. Ciel chuckled, receiving a mental picture of Varahki falling on his face. Judging by his mind's image, Cream and any other onlooker must have gotten a good laugh.

Varahki snatched the shattered MP3 Player and screwdriver away from his brother, "I'll fix it myself then, Mr. Smarty!" Ciel shook his head in amusement; he had seen Varahki's skills with machinery firsthand.

"You know you aren't good with these kinds of things," Eno reminded his brother as Ciel left the room.

"I know..." Varahki mumbled. Ciel heard what sounded like plastic cracking. "...I broke it again didn't I?"

"Yeah..." Eno sighed. From down the hall, Ciel smiled. Varahki had absolutely no skill with machines. Maybe that would explain while almost every mechanical object around the base was broken. There used to be a tracking system; Varahki broke it. The metal detector and the old television? Varahki accidentally broke them. The Playstation? Varahki... wait, no that one had been Gemini's fault.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking for Amy?" Ciel half jumped half flinched at the sound of a voice behind. He whirled around to face a desert flower Varahki had found and stuck in a pot. Leaning against the wall near the potted plant was Espio. Ciel had noticed something about Espio; as the years passed, his temper grew thinner, and he was slightly more irritable than he had been six years ago.

"Uh, yeah..." Ciel answered.

"Then why are you aren't out there looking?" Espio asked, his tone not exactly friendly.

"It's really dusty out there." Ciel pointed down at his knee-length white and dark blue boots. They were flecked with brown dust.

Espio blinked in response, "If you're given a job, then be responsible and do it." He muttered.

"Okay then..." Ciel turned around and backed out of the hallway. Mumbling under his breath, he dragged himself past Eno and Varahki, past Gemini and Charmy, and back into the scorching heat of Dry Lagoon.

_Is it always hot here? _Ciel pondered as he neared the cliff's edge. The rain clouds in the distance looked so inviting. _I bet Amy's having fun walking in that wonderfully cool, wet rain. _The black and yellow hedgehog grabbed onto the crude rope ladder and scalded down the side of the cliff. It had been a long time since he had came down here, and he had forgotten how long of a climb it was from top to bottom. Once his boots hit the sandy ground, he remember why he had loved coming down here so much. Even though it was nearly winter, the oasis was filled with brightly blooming flowers. Crickets chirped their melodious tune as they basked in the warmth of the sun. A butterfly lazily fluttered past Ciel's nose. Several bees sleepily droned by, sedated by the dry heat. Surround by this peaceful atmosphere, Ciel stifled a yawn. He instantly forgot his responsibility and flopped down in a patch of sweet smelling red flowers. He didn't know their name, but they sure did smell good. Maybe he should ask Varahki what they were called; he would probably know.

"Hello, Ciel!" A charmingly feminine voice rang through the air. Ciel sat up and saw now sixteen year old Cream standing over him. She had matured a lot in the past ten years. For starters, she had grown taller and abandoned the simple orange dress she had worn ever day. Now, to cope with the heat of Dry Lagoon, Cream was wearing a pair of shorts, a white tank top, and orange flip-flops.

"Hey Cream! Picking flowers again?" He asked, eyeing the clump of yellow, red, and orange flowers clutched in her hands.

"Yes, my mother asked me to pick some for her," Cream explained. Ciel, as well as everybody else back at the base, knew that Vanilla would never object to some freshly picked flowers in a crystal vase placed on the kitchen table. "Would you like to help?" She asked.

"Sure." Ciel stood up out of the flower patch, the sweet scent clinging to his fur and cloths.

Cream smiled at him, "You smell like flower." Ciel sniffed his coat. Sure enough, he could smell the scent of the red flowers. He shrugged, not knowing what to say. "Don't worry; it smells nice." The rabbit complemented. She bent down and picked one of the red flowers. "My mother would probably like these."

Ciel kneeled down next to her and picked five or so of the flowers. "They're really pretty flowers. I wonder what they're called."

"They're poppies; Varahki told me." Cream took the flowers Ciel had picked and added them to her bundle. "So what are you doing down here?" She asked.

"I'm supposed to be watching for Amy," He admitted. "But I doubt she's coming any time soon."

Cream smiled and wandered over a patch of yellow, scrub like flowers. "Do you think she would like these?" She pulled on off its stem and held it next to the others. "It goes really good with these orange ones right here."

"I'll think Vanilla will like whatever you bring here." Ciel said, picking more of the yellow ones and handing them to Cream. She bent down next to him and gathered some more.

"I think this is enough." Cream said, "I'm going to take them to my mother so you might want to get back to watching for Amy." Ciel nodded to Cream as she walked back to rope ladder. The hedgehog sat down in the field of yellow flowers. Watch duty sure was boring. He half wished Cream would have stayed down here with him; then he would of had someone to talk to. He folded his wings against his back and settled down in the flowers. His belly growled, reminding him of the hunger that had plagued him all afternoon. Gemini had told him he'd get lunch as soon as Amy came back, whenever that was. Ciel shifted position. Maybe he should take a little nap...

"Ow!" He shouted, feeling a blunt object digging into his side. Ciel reached into the flowers and felt around for something blunt. He pulled out a blue Chaos Emerald. The hedgehog held it up in the sun, admiring the way the light reflected off the smooth surface. He liked shiny objects, and this Chaos Emerald definitely counted as shiny.

"Shiny!" Someone shouted from the ledge behind Ciel. Surprised, the hedgehog dropped the Emerald into the flowers.

"Who's there?" He cried as he picked up the Chaos Emerald again. A green, sand covered head poked over the ledge. Ciel recognized the spot he had emerged from as the entrance to the tunnel leading out into the desert. "Who are you?"

"My name's Bean the Dynamite!" The duck said, jumping down from the ledge and pointing proudly to himself. "And this is my friend Bark the Polar Bear!" A furry yellow polar bear wearing a heat and scarf slid down the ledge.

"Have you two seen a pink hedgehog named Amy Rose?" Ciel asked Bark. The polar bear hitched his thumb back towards the tunnel he and Bean had popped out of. Ciel saw Amy appear from what seemed to be thin air, followed by an armadillo and a flying squirrel.

"Hi Amy!" Ciel quickly pocketed the Chaos Emerald and greeted the pink hedgehog. Amy jumped down off the ledge and walked up to the black and yellow hedgehog.

"Hey Ciel! It's good to see you again," Amy motioned to Bark, Bean, the armadillo, and the flying squirrel. "I'd like you to met Bark, Bean, Mighty, and Ray. They're going to stay with us for a little while."

"Okay..." Ciel said, relieved to finally be able to go inside, "But you might want to tell Eno since he's head of the council."

"The council?" Mighty asked, him and the others following Ciel and Amy to a rope ladder dangling down the side of a very high cliff. Next to Mighty, Bark cringed at the sight of another rope ladder. He'd had seen enough rope ladders to last him a lifetime.

"Yeah, when me, Cream, Vanilla, Big, and the Chaotix arrived, we hedgehogs decided to form a council which Ciel nicknamed 'The League of Extraordinary Hedgehogs' after watching some movie with Charmy..." Amy said, glancing at Ciel. He grinned. "Anyways," Amy continued, "All we do is discuss problems and make plans. That's about it."

"Wow," said Mighty, "I thought it would be something a lot more glamorous than planning." The armadillo grabbed onto the rope and followed Amy and Ciel. Ray followed after him. Instantly receiving a flashback of the events at the bridge, which had also been made of rope and planks, Bark hesitantly followed Ray. Bean brought up the rear; like Bark, he too flash-backed to the bridge.

--------------------------

Up at the base, Gemini had abandoned the video games in favor of the poker game that Vector, Eno, and Varahki had started some five minutes after Ciel left. "Alright, Varahki. You're turn." Gemini said to the green and brown hedgehog.

Varahki laid down his hand, "I'm folding... Oh, hey Amy." He said, catching sight of the pink hedgehog as she walked inside. "Is Ciel still out there?"

"Naw, I'm right here," Ciel said as he led Bark, Bean, Mighty, and Ray into the room. "Amy's back."

"We noticed," Gemini said, piling together all of the cards.

"She brought company..." Ciel continued.

"I noticed that too..."

"Eno, Gemini, Varahki, I'd like you to meet Bark the Polar Bear, Bean the Dynamite Duck, Mighty the Armadillo, and Ray the Flying Squirrel." Amy introduced each one of the newcomers to the Hedgehog Council. "They'll be staying with us for a little while..."

"Just for a bit," Bark added, not wanting the hedgehogs to feel burdened by their presence.

"We don't mind," Eno said with a smile, "You and your friends are welcome to stay as long as you want."

"Thanks a lot. Is their any place where I could take a shower or bathe or something?" Mighty asked Eno.

The hedgehog nodded. "Sure, there's a lagoon out in the other half. Ciel can show you there."

The black and yellow hedgehog grinned, "I'll take you whenever you're ready."

Mighty nodded, "Thanks. Could you get me a towel first?" Ciel nodded vigorously and dashed off down the hallway, almost colliding with Vanilla. The flower-filled vase in her hands slipped slightly from her grip, but she managed to regain her balance and catch the vase.

She shook her head as she watched Ciel running down the hall. "One of these days he's going to hurt himself..." She chided as she placed the flowers in the center of the table.

"It's never stopped him before," Gemini pointed out to her as he stared glumly at the vase of flowers inches from his nose. He didn't really like having all these flowers everywhere. Varahki, on the other hand, loved it.

"More flowers!" He cried, inhaling their sweet, savoury aroma. That was definitely his favorite thing about living in Dry Lagoon: flowers were blooming everywhere. Varahki loved plants. Actually, he loved nature in general; he loved nature almost as much as he loved girls, and that was truly saying something.

Ciel returned, a fluffy white towel draped over one arm. He handed it to Mighty. "Follow me, please!" The black and yellow streaked hedgehog led Mighty out into the desert and down the rope ladder, where they vanished from sight.

"Bark, I thought you wanted to freshen up, too," Bean said to his polar bear friend.

"I will, after I sleep..." Bark grumbled.

Gemini stood up and pushed his chair away, "I'll take you to a room if you want."

"That would be nice..." Bark muttered as he followed Gemini down the hallway. The halls were painted a dull green and there was no floor, just sand. A couple potted plants and cactus lined the walls, and the name of each room was painted on the doorway in gold paint. As Bark followed Gemini, he read the writing on the doors. One door read "Amy". He guessed that one led to Amy's room. Other doors were labeled with names; some Bark recognized, but most he didn't. Gemini passed a room labeled "Cheese Cellar" and stopped in front of a door with "Guest" stamped across it's surface.

"Well, there you go," Gemini said, opening the door for Bark. "There's a bed, a TV, and other homely touches in there."

"Thanks..." Bark mumbled as he walked inside, shutting the door behind him. Not bothering to look at the room, he flopped down on the bed, exhausted. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the thoughts that constantly plagued his mind. How much longer did they have to save Tails? Why were a band of possibly powerful hedgehogs living in the middle of nowhere? Why was the feeling of unease still floating around in his stomach? Bark groaned and rolled over. He grabbed one of the pillows, covered his head with it, and waited for the much longed for sleep to come...

* * *

**And we'll stop there... Thanks to Ciel the Hedgehog for letting me use the OCs. Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Since I am now juggling two stories, updates won't be coming as fast as before. I'm still going to update. I absolutely love writing this story (and honestly it's more fun to write than my other one).**

**Disclaimer: see last chapter**

**(Please note: this story is rated T for violence in later chapters, language, and some other stuff.) **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9**

**Of Lagoons, Emeralds, and Water**

Back in the other room, the poker game had started without Gemini. Seated around the makeshift table were Varahki, Eno, Bean, and Ray.

Eno laid his cards face down on the table. "Alright, Ray. It's your turn." He said, rubbing at his cybernetic arm. "Varahki, pass me the oil, would you? My arm's getting a little squeaky."

"I'm on it." Varahki grabbed the little silver can of oil sitting near the edge of the table. He softly tossed it to Eno. The hedgehog caught it with his mechanical hand and screwed the top off. Built into the bottom of the lid was an eyedropper. Eno filled it up and dripped several drops of the black liquid and dripped them onto his cybernetic shoulder.

"Okay... Can we play now?" Varahki asked, taking back the oil can.

"Yes. Ray, it's your turn." Eno said, turning his head to stare at the golden flying squirrel sitting at the opposite end of the table.

"Go fish!" Ray shouted. He proudly laid down his cards and gazed at the puzzled faces staring back at him. "What?" He asked, wondering why everyone was staring at him as if he had lobsters coming out of his ears.

"We're playing poker, not Go Fish," Eno reminded the scatter-brained squirrel.

"Oh!" Ray exclaimed, "Why didn't you say so?"

Eno and Varahki groaned and exchanged exasperated glances.

"In that case, I fold." Ray stated, piling his hand of cards together. Eno groaned again and muttered something under his breath.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

In his room, Bark was having trouble falling asleep. For the past few minutes, he had tossed and turned in the bed, longing for sleep yet wishing for something exciting to happen. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. With nothing else to do, he might as well ponder his troubling thoughts. After all, there were many of them plaguing his mind.

Deep down in his subconscious, he felt guilty about leaving Nack behind to be captured by Princess Ranakan's thugs. Maybe after he, Bean, and Amy rescued Tails, they could go back and free him. After all, it wasn't Nack's fault he was a sleazy bounty hunter who was obsessed with money.

The other thought bothering him was how to rescue Tails. It had been almost a whole day since he had departed from his home, and all he had accomplished was finding an old friend, stumbling into a hostile kingdom, and meeting a gang of freak hedgehogs. The fate of "Miles Prower" was in his hands, and so far he had proved himself incompetent of saving him.

Bark's head was beginning to pound from all of the thinking. The thought of taking a nice, cool bath in a sun-warmed lagoon greatly appealed to him at the moment. His muscles ached from all the walking, and his head throbbed from all thinking. Yes, a refreshing dip in a crystal clear pool would do him a world of good at the moment.

The yellow polar bear slid off the side of the bed and walked out of the room. His footsteps were muffled by the soft sand underneath his shoes, and the bright lighting in the hallway cast his greatly enlarged shadow against the wall. Bark shuffled into the main room of the base. Eno, Varahki, Ray, and Bean were still sitting at the table; he could hear Bean and Ray squabbling over whether or not Bean was cheating.

Bark walked past them, knowing they were too wrapped up in their game of poker to notice his presence. After walking past them, he entered another room. In that corner, a television was propped on several old crates designed to store fruit. Sitting on similar crates was Gemini and Charmy Bee; as usual, they were playing video games. They two exchanged almost no words as they rapidly hit the buttons on their individual controllers. Bark walked up behind Gemini and tapped him on the shoulder.

The black and blue streaked hedgehog tapped the pause button and turned around to face Bark. "I thought you were sleeping," He commented.

"I couldn't sleep," Bark muttered, "I was going to go down to the lagoon. Can you tell me how to get there?" The polar bear asked.

"Uh... sure," Gemini said, "Go down the rope ladder and to this little pool of water. There's a turtle floating in the pool; jump on his back, give him a few kicks, and he'll take you to the lagoon. Mighty and Ciel are probably still there so look out for them."

"Okay, thanks Gemini." Bark muttered as he made his way out of the room. The inside of the base had been air conditioned by a massive system, so it was comfortable cool. Now, when Bark stepped into the blazing hot sun of Dry Lagoon,, a blast of hot air hit him like a tidal wave. He couldn't wait to take a dip in the icy water...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Mighty sighed with content and splashed some water in his face. It had been a long time since he had gotten to bath in the lovely outdoors, so this swim was much welcomed. Ciel seemed to be enjoying himself too. The black and yellow hedgehog was in the water, floating on his back and staring up at the sky. He seemed slightly puzzled at the condition of the sky. Several clouds were drifting above his head. They weren't your regular, run-of-the-mill, white, puffy clouds; these looked like rain clouds. Ciel was beginning to wonder if it was actually going to rain in Dry Lagoon. If it did, it would be the first time in the near ten years he had lived at the base.

"It's looking a lot like rain." Mighty stated, voicing Ciel's thoughts.

"Yeah, it is..." The hedgehog agreed. "I wonder if it will. I've never seen the clouds get this far."

Only half listening, Mighty nodded and dove back into the water. Still floating along the surface on his back, Ciel pulled the Chaos Emerald out of his pocket and held it up to the sun. It's glassy, blue surfaces reflected the sun's light and cast eerie, mysterious patterns of light on the lagoon's wall.

----------------------------

Concealed from view in a nearby bush, a pair of lavender eyes watched the every move of the Chaos Emerald. This was the prize she was seeking. It was for this prize that she had followed the polar bear and his stupid friends to this worthless oasis. She wanted this emerald. She wanted it badly. Where she came from, a Chaos Emerald would bring her power and respect. Maybe even wealth. The bush rustled slightly as she shifted positions. Luckily, the hedgehog and the armadillo didn't notice. She breathed a sigh of relief. When the time was right, the emerald would be her's...

------------------------------------

Ciel flipped over onto his stomach and floated face down in the water, staring at the lagoon's sandy bottom. Green pond weeds waved their long, slimy tendrils in the faint current. Numerous shoals of fish darted back and forth, nipping at microscopic bacteria. At the center of the lagoon's bottom was a gaping black hole. A current always ran between this hole and the one near the base. Ciel and the other hedgehogs at the base always made it a point to never go near it unless they were riding the turtle. True, that current wasn't the only one in the lagoon. There was another one that ran into a passage under the wall, but no one ever worried much about that current. It was much weaker than the other.

Running short of air, Ciel rolled onto his back and exhaled. He kicked his feet, propelling himself through the water. He didn't need to worry about bumping into Mighty; the armadillo had climbed onto a patch of land and was lying in the shade of the ledge that towered above him.

Ciel gasped in surprise and toppled forward into the water as the turtle suddenly came out of the deep and crashed into him. The hedgehog floundered around in water, accidentally swallowing a mouthful of water. He chocked it back up as he swam towards the nearest patch of land. Still coughing up water, he hauled himself onto the grass. Hearing the sound of splashing behind him, Ciel turned back around, expecting to see some kind of monster pursuing him. Instead, he saw Bark dog-paddling towards him.

"Oh, hey Bark." He said, greatly relieved.

"Hi, Ciel," Bark greeted, swimming up to the embankment of land the black and yellow hedgehog was sitting on.

So close she could see the individual hairs on Ciel's head, the figure in the bush pressed closer to the wall, waiting anxiously for the opportune moment...

"Where's Mighty?" Bark asked, looking around the lagoon.

Ciel pointed over to the larger stretch of land. "He's over there, napping in the shade." The hedgehog pulled out the Chaos Emerald and showed it to Bark. From her cover in the bush, the figure's lavender eyes glittered in anticipation.

"I found this earlier, Bark." Ciel began, "I don't have any use for it here, so I was wondering if you want to take it with you where ever it is you, Bean, Mighty, and Ray are going. It might come in handy."

"Uh... okay..." Bark said, taking the blue Chaos Emerald from Ciel. "Thanks, I guess." The polar bear tucked it into the belt strapped around his waist. In the bush, the female figure swore to herself. She was going to have to do this the hard way. She tightened the muscles in her legs and prepared to pounce on her intended victim.

"Holy cow!" Bark heard Ciel shout. Suddenly, a ball of black fur cannoned into his side, forcing the breath from his lungs and knocking him to the ground.

"What the hell?!" He shouted, regaining his footing. Standing above him was a familiar face. It was the black cat from the Kingdom of Lost Sands, and she was not in the mood to be friendly. Her lavender eyes glared at Bark, and her arms were folded across her short white shirt. She was wearing a pair of baggy khaki cargo pants, an over-sized metal-studded belt, and scuffed up brown boots. A shard of green crystal strung to a gold chain glittered in the sunlight from its place around her neck.

"What do you want..." Bark growled, taking his fighting stance. "I thought we left you in the desert?"

"You have something I want..." The black cat said in a dangerously low voice.

"What?" Bark growled.

"That Chaos Emerald in your pocket," She barked, lunging at the polar bear.

Bark threw up his arms in defense. He grunted in pain as the black cat's claws raked his right arm. Thinking quickly, he jabbed his elbow down, catching the black cat in the back of the neck. She dropped to the ground and bit at his ankle. She howled in pain as he kicked her in the face. Blood dripping from her mouth, she dove for Bark once more.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Bark shouted, blocking her attack with a quick jab.

"Nothing!" She shrieked, aiming a kick at his head. Bark caught her foot and threw her into the wall. The black cat hit the wall with a dull thud and slid to the ground. Thinking it was over, Bark walked up to her. Suddenly, she shot up and threw several rapid punches at his face. He winced as one caught him in the nose.

"That's it!" He shouted, "You're going down!" With all his strength, Bark punched the black cat in the side of the face. Temporarily stunned, she teetered backwards before stumbling off the patch of land and into the depths of the lagoon.

"What was that all about?" Ciel asked, creeping out from behind the bush, where he had taken refuge from the fight.

"She wanted the Chaos Emerald," Bark answered, patting the pocket he had stored the emerald in.

Ciel walked over to the edge and peered into the still water, "Do you think she can swim?"

"Damn..."

The black cat felt as if the breath was being forced from her lungs. She flailed her arms madly, trying to escape her watery grave. Her lungs feeling as if they were about to burst, she opened her mouth to gasp in air. Instead, she received only a mouthful of icy water tainted with fibers of stringy pond weed. She tried to cough it out, but more water rushed into her mouth and down her throat. The gaping black hole loomed beneath her; its current dragged her further away from the air and into it's merciless embrace, until her oxygen-starved brain slipped into the darkness that now seemed so comforting.

With one arm around the black cat's waist, Bark pulled her up onto the patch of land. She stared at him blankly before slipping into unconsciousness.

"What do we do?" Bark asked, "It's not we can leave her out here to die... That would look a little suspicious."

"Heimlich maneuver?" Ciel suggested.

Bark shook his head, "No that's for choking..."

The black and yellow hedgehog shrugged, "You could always do CPR."

Bark shuddered in protest, "I guess there's nothing else to do..." The polar bear straddled the limp form of the black cat. Muttering under his breath, he lifted her head up, took a deep breath, and with his mouth to her's, exhaled. She still did not stir. Bark took another breath and tried again.

Sputtering, the black cat's eyes flew open. For a second, her gazed wandered over to Ciel, but then she noticed Bark's body pressing down on her and his mouth a hair away from her's. Letting loose with a string of colorful vocabulary that wasn't exactly something Ciel wanted to hear, the black cat pounded her fists into his chest. "Get the hell off me, you bastard!" She shouted.

Bark gladly slid off the cat and leaned against the rock wall. "The least you could do is thank me for saving your worthless life." He muttered.

The black cat leaped to her feet and dusted her self off as if she had brushed up against something dirty. She glared at Bark, "What?" she demanded.

"You probably would've drowned if Bark hadn't gone after you..." Ciel explained to the enraged feline.

"Ha!" She said haughtily, "I could've saved myself, thank you very much!"

Bark and Ciel exchanged exasperated glances. "Well," Ciel said, "You might as well come back to the base with us. We can get you some dry clothes and food..."

"Fine..." She muttered darkly.

On the other side of the lagoon, Mighty sat up and yawned. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he turned to face a puzzled Ciel, a dripping wet Bark, and an angry cat. He blinked again. "What'd I miss?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you my lovely reviewers! Sorry if this chapter is a little late; I was going to write it over the weekend, but I was busy with birthday celebrations. I'm fourteen now, baby!!! Whoo hoo!!! Sorry... ignore my bliss and read the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: see chapter eight.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10**

**Rebellions of the Teenage Kind**

Not desiring to exchanged any words, Bark, Ciel, Mighty, and the black cat walked back to the base. Although Mighty desperately wanted to know what had happened, he stuck to Bark's code of silence. The polar bear had his arms crossed, and he looked very sullen. Next to him, Ciel sighed and glanced back at Mighty. The armadillo shrugged, not knowing what else to do. Lingering besides Ciel, the black cat looked just as irritated as Bark, if not more. After all, she had a good reason to be irritated. She had failed at getting the Chaos Emerald, she had been beaten in a fight, all of her dignity had been washed away when she almost drowned, and to make matters worse, her clothes were soaking wet.

Ciel glanced up at the sky, still wondering if there was a chance of rain. The clouds were indeed getting closer, and it appeared that the sun was starting to set. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the Dry Lagoon in the dark and rain. Good thing the base wasn't to much farther; Ciel could see the rope ladder from where he was. They had decided to take the long way since the black cat had refused to take the turtle. Something about not liking water... Ciel couldn't blame her after what had just happened at the lagoon. If that had been him, he wouldn't be caught dead in the water ever again.

This black cat was a subject of interest to Ciel. It wasn't very often that someone just randomly showed up in the Dry Lagoon. If fact, before Amy, Cream, Vanilla, Big, and the Chaotix had arrived, only two people had came here, for reasons unknown to anyone at living at the base. Even then, they hadn't stayed long.

Ciel couldn't handle the silence anymore. He had to break it before it drove him crazy. He dropped back a step so he was walking next to the black cat. "So..." He began, "What's your name?"

The black cat shot him a glare, "Natalie Barlow..." She muttered.

"Where are you from?" Ciel questioned.

"The Kingdom of Lost Sands," Natalie answered, the hate for Ciel and Bark still present in her voice.

"Why are you made at me?" Ciel asked, sensing the dislike in her tone, "Bark's the one who pushed you into the water."

"I can dislike you if I want." Natalie said, knowing it was a lame answer; she couldn't think of anything better to say to Ciel. She knew he wasn't really that bad of a guy, but it was much easier to stay angry with him.

"Okay." Ciel responded, totally unfazed by her answer. So what if she hated him? She wasn't the first one to dislike him. He was the kid of the base, and he got had gotten on the nerves of nearly everyone since they arrived. Even so, only Espio actually disliked him with a passion, but then again, Espio hardly liked anyone at the base. So no worries.

"Why did you want the Chaos Emerald?" Bark demanded, breaking his silence. He turned his head to glare at the cat as he waited for an answer; if she had one, that was.

"I wanted it," Natalie explained with contempt, "Because I was hired by some merchant in the Kingdom of Lost Sands to find him one and give it to him."

"Why did he want it?" Bark asked, drilling her with another question.

"I don't know!" Natalie snapped, "All I know was that he paid me twenty dollars and said he would give me another hundred when I returned it to him."

Ciel shook his head, "It's not a big deal, Bark. It's just some street merchant who longed for some amount of wealth. You act like he was going to take over the world with the emerald or something."

Bark gave Ciel a brisk nod in response. "One more question," He said, turning his attention back to Natalie. "How did you know to follow us?"

"I'm not stupid," she muttered, "I knew that sooner or later you, that idiot duck, the armadillo, the flying squirrel, and that pink thing would lead me to one. Besides, Chaos Emeralds have a strange attraction to hedgehogs," She added smugly, "Looks like I was right." The cat hitched her thumb back at Ciel.

"So once I left you in the desert," Natalie continued, "I looped around the Kingdom of Lost Sands and tracked you. You guys left a trail that a one-eyed monkey could follow." She finished explained, and crossed her arms. She shot a murderous glare at Bark. "There, are you happy now?"

Bark grunted in response and turned away. He had a feeling today wouldn't be the last day he would see Natalie. He fervently hoped it was, but he knew it wasn't. The polar bear knew she would end up coming with him and Bean. Well, if she did, then Bark would make sure she was as uncomfortable as possible. Snakes in her sleeping bag, bugs in her food, and mud in her shoes; it all sounded so wonderful. He held back an evil chuckle at the thought of a miserable Natalie, but then he got an attack of conscience. That would be too mean. He wasn't that heartless. If she wanted to come, then fine. He wouldn't be happy with it, but it wasn't like he could do anything.

"It's getting really dark," Mighty said, stating the obvious. The sun was now resting on the very edge of the horizon, and the clouds had moved in far enough to block a considerable amount of light. The cliff that the GUN base was assembled on loomed in front of Mighty and the others. In the rapidly fading light, he could see the outline of the rope ladder that led to the safety and comfort of the base.

"Not to mention cold!" Natalie snapped, reminding everyone that she was wearing wet clothes.

"Relax," Ciel said, "Were almost there, and someone will dry your clothes for you." The hedgehog grabbed the ladder's rope and placed his foot on the bottom rung. He climbed it, grabbing every other rung for support. Glancing down behind him, he could see Mighty, Natalie, and Bark following him.

Ciel pulled himself onto the edge of the cliff and laid in the sand, grateful to finally be back at the base. Gasping for air and exhausted, the other three climbed up besides Ciel and flopped down in the sand. As if on cue, a bolt of lightning zig-zagged across the stormy skies, and rain flooded from the skies, soaking the parched ground of Dry Lagoon.

"Looks like we're just in time," Ciel stated, hauling himself up off the ground. Next to him, Mighty nodded in agreement as he stood up and dusted the sand from his shoes.

"What took you guys so long?"

Surprised, Bark, Ciel, Mighty, and Natalie looked up and stared at the shadowy figure of Cream. The teenage rabbit was standing a few inches away from Bark's foot. A black wool cloak was draped over her narrow shoulders, and the hood shadowed her face. "Everyone was starting to get worried so Eno told me to go and look for you."

Ciel grinned and brushed the sand off his white and blue cloak. "We're fine. We just took the long way around." The hedgehog explained to her.

Cream clicked on a flashlight that she had tucked up her sleeve. She shone the beam on Natalie. The black cat raised up her hand to shield the light from her eyes. "Who are you?" Cream asked.

"Natalie Barlow," the cat answered, "I ran into your friends at the lagoon."

"Nice to meet you," Cream greeted, extending her hand to the cat, "My name's Cream."

"Thrilled." Natalie responded, politely shaking Cream's hand.

Cream released the black cat's hand and shook the water from her white gloves, "Why are you all wet?" She asked, wiping the remaining moisture off on her cloak.

"I fell into the lagoon." Natalie muttered, taking the chance to glare at Bark. The polar bear rolled his eyes. Eventually, she'd drop this whole issue, but by then his fur would probably be turning gray.

"Oh... you should probably be getting out of those wet clothes then." Cream commented, "It's getting cold and you could catch a chill."

"Yeah..." Natalie muttered, uncomfortable with the fact that a kid was instructing her on what to do, "She sounds like my mother..." She whispered back to Ciel as she, he, Bark, and Mighty followed Cream into the base.

No one was sitting at the table or in front of the television; Ciel suspected they had gone to the kitchen for dinner. Mm... dinner. His stomach growled at the thought of food. He hadn't eaten since breakfast. Even though he knew this place like the back of his hand, Ciel continued to follow Cream down the hallway until she stopped in front of a door with the word "kitchen" written on it. Oh, that glorious seven letter word. Ciel could taste the food already.

Cream opened the door and slipped inside. "Ciel, wait here with them. I'll be right back."

Ciel nodded and leaned against the wall. Behind it, he could hear several voices talking and the clatter of plates and silverware. His stomach growled again as the smell of spaghetti wafted through the cracks in the door. It must be pasta night. Vanilla made the best pasta, and the garlic bread she baked was always fantastic. Ciel wiped away the drool from the corner of his mouth. Next to him, Mighty was sighed contently at the scent of the pasta. Bark also appeared to be enjoying the scrumptious smells from in the kitchen.

Finally, the door squeaked open, and Cream stepped out, followed by an older rabbit wearing a faded white apron over her skirt and blouse. "My, my what happened?" She asked politely.

"Hi, Vanilla!" Ciel greeted cheerfully, "There was a little accident at the lagoon. Let me explain..."

Vanilla and Cream listened intently as Ciel told them why there was a dripping wet cat in their hallway, why Bark's arm was cut, and why Mighty had no idea what had happened. When he had finished, Vanilla escorted Natalie off to a room down the hallway so she could get some dry clothes.

"So that's what happened?" Cream asked.

Ciel nodded, "Yeah... Hey, I'm really hungry. Could you please let us into the kitchen now, Cream?"

"Oh, sorry, Ciel." The rabbit held open the door as Ciel, Bark, and Mighty walked into the kitchen. The table had already been set, and platters of spaghetti, garlic bread, and other foods were piled up on the table. The table was long; it stretched from one end of the room to the other. Seated at the head of the table was Eno. Varahki and Gemini were sitting on either side of him; an empty chair for Ciel sat in between the two hedgehogs. The other chairs had all been occupied, the exceptions being the three other empty chairs for Bark, Mighty, and Cream.

From his seat next to Ray, Bean waved to Bark and patted the empty chair next to him. The polar bear waved back and edged around the table to take his seat next to Bean. As he sat down, the crocodile next to him greeted him with a nod before stuffing another forkful of pasta into his mouth.

"Where were you?" Bean asked, snatching a piece of garlic bread off the tray as it was passed from the crocodile to Ray.

"I went to the lagoon to take a dip." Bark answered, "But I got into some trouble with that black cat."

"She followed us?" Bean questioned in disbelief.

Bark nodded and helped himself to a bowl of spaghetti sitting near his plate. "She wanted a Chaos Emerald." He said, spooning the pasta onto his plate.

"But we don't have one," Bean responded, picking at his garlic bread. As much as he loved food, he didn't want to hold a conversation with Bark while his mouth was full.

"Ciel gave me one." Bark explained with his mouth full of spaghetti. He, unlike Bean, could care less if he talked with his mouth filled with food. He was hungry, therefore he was going to eat, regardless of any conversation he was holding.

At the other end of the table, Ciel took his seat next to Gemini. The black and blue streaked hedgehog glanced at his brother, curious as to why he was late. It wasn't like Ciel to be late for a meal. Gemini grabbed a nearby platter of spaghetti and passed it to Ciel. "Spaghetti?" He offered.

"Thanks," Ciel said, taking the platter and spooning pasta onto his plate. He dug his fork into the mess and stuffed it into his mouth, tomato sauce oozing from the corners of his mouth. Gemini grimaced at his brother's eating and turned back to his own plate.

"What kept you?" Gemini questioned, spinning his fork around the strands of spaghetti.

"It's a long story, Gemini!" Ciel exclaimed, hi-jacking a plate of garlic bread as it passed by his face. "I'll explain to you after dinner."

"Alright."

Finished with her dinner, Amy pushed her plate away and slid out of the chair. Several of the others briefly glanced her way as she made her way around the table towards the spot where Bark and Bean were seated. There was an important question she still needed answered: why the two of them were here in the first place.

"Hey, Bean." Amy said, kneeling down in the space in between his chair and Bark's.

"Hi, Amy!" Bean greeted, hastily wiping away any traces of tomato sauce on his face. "What's up?"

Amy settled into a more comfortable position. "You and Bark never told me why you two were in the middle of the desert. I want to know." She said.

Bark sighed and pushed away his plate of spaghetti. He had a feeling he wouldn't be eating it anymore. He had totally forgotten to tell Amy about Tails and his mission. "Well," He began, "This morning when I went for a walk, I ran into two GUN agents. They told me that Tails had been kidnapped."

"What?!" Amy exclaimed in disbelief, loud enough for everyone at the table to drop their silverware and stare at her, "Tails was kidnapped?!" She said loudly, ignoring the stares she was receiving from Eno, Varahki, Gemini, Ciel, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Vanilla, Cream, Big, Mighty, and Ray.

"What are you going to do?" Amy asked in a slightly quieter voice.

"Well," Bark muttered, feeling slightly embarrassed by the stares he was getting, "I was told to go after him and bring him back home... Bean's coming with me."

The green duck vigorously nodded his head in agreement. Amy looked from Bark to Bean and back to Bark, "I'm coming with you."

"Me too!" Ciel shouted, standing up from his seat next to Gemini.

"I'm coming, too!" Cream yelled, also standing up.

By now, the spaghetti had been all but abandoned as everyone's attention was redirected to the two youngest members of the base. This promised to be interesting; everyone knew it would be a matter of time until Cream, one of the youngest, and Ciel, the im-maturest, longed for some kind of action.

"Yeah," Ciel continued, "We never get any action around here. It's been wake up, eat, walk around, eat, walk around some more, eat, go to bed for years! I want to go on an adventure and help rescue someone."

"Me too!" The normally mild-mannered Cream agreed with her hedgehog friend, "We never get to do anything here, and I want to see the world. I can't stay cooped up here forever."

"This is ridiculous," Espio said from his seat next to Vector, "Charmy is the same age as you two and he never wanted to do anything like this."

"That's because Charmy has Gemini to hang out with!" Ciel argued, "Me and Cream have no one to hang out with."

Eno dropped his fork onto his plate with a loud clatter. "Ciel," He began calmly, "Varahki, Gemini, and I are roughly the same age as you and Cream, and we're content with our lives here."

Hot tears of frustration stung the corners of Ciel's eyes, "That's because you guys have responsibilities here! We don't; we have nothing to do!" He shouted hoarsely.

"Yeah," Cream agreed, the same feeling of frustration present in her voice, "Let us go with Amy! Please!"

"Absolutely not!" Vanilla scolded from the doorway. She had just returned from attending to Natalie and had heard the entire conversation. "It's a dangerous world out there Cream, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"But Mom," Cream protested, "I'm not a little kid anymore! I can take care of myself. So can Ciel." She added, sticking up for her best friend.

At the head of the table, the easy-going Eno felt his blood boiling. "That's enough!" He shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. The whole room grew so silent you could hear the crickets chirping outside. "No one but Amy will be leaving. This is a dangerous journey, and I don't want the lives of two young people put on the line."

Ciel let a tear fall down his face, not caring who saw. "I hate you, Eno! I hate all of you!" He shouted rashly, throwing the door open and running out of the kitchen.

With a mixture of emotions, those in the kitchen watched the door swing shut. Vanilla turned to Cream, "Cream, sweetie, please don't do something as rash as what Ciel did. It's too dangerous for someone as young as you to be out there..."

"Leave me alone..." Cream muttered, turning away from her mother and walking out the door.

Vanilla sighed and took a seat at the table. The older rabbit laid her head in her hands and groaned. Big the Cat placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and offered her a napkin, "It's okay Miss Vanilla." He reassured, "Cream's just growing up."

"That's what scares me Big." Vanilla said, gratefully taking the napkin and dabbing at her moist eyes. "My little girl isn't a little girl anymore."

* * *

**And that ends chapter ten. In case you haven't guessed, there will be pairings in this story. Three to be exact; two obvious, one not so much. Cookies to anyone who can guess all three.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yeah... almost everybody got the two obvious ones. Well, the pairings in this are Bean/Amy, Bark/OC, and an OC/Cream/Tails triangle. **

**Disclaimer: see chapter eight.**

**On with the story!

* * *

**

**Chapter 11**

**Runaways**

"Thanks for everything, Eno." Bark the polar bear thanked the cybernetic hedgehog. "And I'm sorry about Ciel and Cream."

"They'll get over it." Eno muttered, sipping at the mug of hot cocoa held in his hands. He, Bark, Bean, and Amy were gathered around the living room's blazing fireplace. Ray and Mighty had been offered a position in the rescue party, but they had turned it down, electing to stay at the base and live with Varahki, Gemini, and the others.

Eno reached under his chair and pulled out three heavy burlap sacks. "Here, you'll need these."

Amy, sitting closest to Eno, grabbed the sacks, took one, and tossed the other two to Bark and Bean. "What's in them?" Bean asked, catching his and inspecting the material.

"Food, water, and matches," Eno answered, "There may not be food or water where you're going, and if you run into cold weather, build a fire with the matches."

"Thanks, Eno." Amy said, "That was very thoughtful of you."

Eno dismissed her complement with a nod. "I also want you to take these." The hedgehog reached under his chair once more and pulled out an array of guns. "Where ever you go, you'll probably run into trouble. My brothers and I don't approve of violence, but if you find yourself in a battle, you shouldn't be empty handed."

Eno passed the guns to Amy. The pink hedgehog selected the smallest one and handed them others down to Bean and Bark. The polar bear took one, a big one, and stuck it in his belt next to the one that GUN had loaned him. Amy stuffed the gun into her sack and stood up. "We should be leaving now. I don't want to have to say good-bye to everyone tomorrow, or I'll regret going with you guys."

"You don't have to come, Amy." Bean reminded her.

"Yes I do." The pink hedgehog answered.

"Very well." Eno stood up and gave Amy a hug good-bye. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Eno." Amy said, "Thanks for everything you've ever done for me and my friends. If I don't come back, take good care of them."

"Good-bye!" Bean said, waving to Eno as he followed Amy and Bark out of the base and into the stormy night.

"Good-bye, Bean. Good-bye Bark," Eno muttered, watching the three of them vanish over the edge of the cliff. "Luck be with you." The cybernetic hedgehog turned his back on the abandoned cliff and busied himself with picking up the hot chocolate mugs and putting out the fire. When he was done, he slowly walked back down the hallway, listening to rain pounding against the roof of the base. His mind wandering deep into his thoughts, Eno opened the door to his room and walked inside, slowly shutting it behind him. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever see Amy, Bark, and Bean again.

At the same moment Eno shut his door, Ciel opened his. Forget what Eno and the others said; he was going with Bark, Bean, and Amy. The black and yellow hedgehog crept down the hallway, muffling his steps in the thick sand that coated the floor. He passed the Chaotix's room and resisted a giggle as he heard Charmy talking in his sleep. Finally he saw the gold lettering that marked Cream's door. Ciel quietly turned the handle and opened the door. It squeaked slightly. He held his breath, hoping no one had heard. After several moments he was convinced it was safe and opened the door the rest of the way. The hedgehog peered inside. Still awake, Cream gave Ciel a wave as he slipped into her room.

"You're sneaking out, aren't you?" She asked her friend.

Ciel nodded. "Are you coming with me?"

Cream held up the small backpack that had been resting besides her on the bed. "You bet."

Ciel grinned and showed her his own backpack. "Awesome, but we need to get food, drink, and matches before we can leave."

The rabbit nodded in agreement and slid off the bed. Knowing Ciel would be planning a midnight runaway, she had not dressed in her pajamas. Instead she was wearing a pair of jeans, a white shirt, and a yellow and orange jacket. Throwing her matching backpack over one shoulder, she followed her hedgehog friend out into the hallway, quietly shutting her bedroom door behind her. The two of them shuffled down the hallway, hurrying to the kitchen before anyone spotted or heard them.

Startled by the sudden noise of a door opening, Ciel and Cream ducked behind the half open kitchen door. The two leaned against the door, tense with anxiety. Ciel could hear the swishing of fabric as someone walked right past the kitchen door. The sound getting quieter, the black and yellow hedgehog risked a peek into the hallway. It was just Varahki, groggy with sleep, stumbling down the hall to the bathroom. The two breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Ciel said, standing to his feet and closing the door. The hedgehog flicked on the lights, revealing the long dining table and the swinging door leading to cupboards of food. He rounded the table and pushed the doors open. Dinner's dishes were still stacked in the sink, and half a cherry pie was sitting on the counter.

"Aw, they had cherry pie for dessert…" Cream observed, "I can't believe I missed it!"

"It's not a big deal," Ciel said. The hedgehog grabbed the saran wrap and covered the top with a sheet of it, forming a make-shift lid. He stuffed the pie into his bag and smiled at Cream, "We'll take it to go!"

The rabbit threw open a cupboard. "Here's some soda." She said, showing Ciel the cans of fizzy soda pop stacked along the shelf. "Should we take some?"

"Sure!" Ciel answered. Cream tossed several cans into her backpack. Meanwhile, Ciel rooted around the other cupboards, throwing all their favorite foods into his backpack. Cookies, candy, peanut butter, and any good crackers they liked were added to the jumble of food.

"I think we have enough food," Cream stated, showing Ciel her loaded backpack. The hedgehog nodded in agreement and grabbed the matches off the counter. He stuffed them into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

"Are we ready now?" Cream asked.

"Well, I think we have everything we need." Ciel said, "So yeah I guess we're ready."

"Shouldn't we leave a note?" The rabbit asked, looking for a piece of paper.

Ciel shook his head. "There's no need to. They'll know where we went."

"Oh, okay…" Cream closed her backpack and threw it onto her back. "Let's go then."

With a sigh, Ciel nodded and followed Cream out of the kitchen. "I hope they don't worry about us…" The hedgehog trailed off as he and the rabbit walked out into the rain.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Vanilla the Rabbit couldn't sleep. Worried about her daughter, she had tossed and turned all night long. Occasionally nodding off to sleep only to be woken by a feeling of guilt for not letting her daughter go with Amy and the others. She laid her head back on the pillow, reassuring herself that what she had done was for the best. Still, the feeling of guilt remained.

Vanilla sighed and slid out of bed. Maybe if she talked to Cream about it she would feel better. The rabbit slipped on her slippers and opened the door. She silently padded down the hallway, sensing that something wasn't quite right, but not sure what was amiss. Dismissing the foolish feeling, Vanilla knocked softly on her daughter's door. No one answered. "She must be asleep," Vanilla thought, quietly opening the door. The rabbit flicked the light switch, and the lamp in the corner clicked on. She gasped in surprise. Cream was gone.

Panicking, Vanilla stumbled down the dark hallway, leaving the door to her daughter's empty bedroom ajar. She frantically knocked on Eno's door, not caring how quiet she was. The cybernetic hedgehog asked the door with a yawn, blinking the sleep from his eyes. "What? What's wrong?" He asked, yawning again.

"Cream is gone!" Vanilla cried.

"What?!" Eno asked loudly. Instantly awake, he felt his blood beginning to boil. "I bet this is all Ciel's doing." He muttered, "Cream would pull something like this."

Awakened by all the commotion, Varahki and Gemini's doors opened, shortly followed by Natalie's, the Chaotix's, and Mighty's. "What's going on out here?" Vector demanded as he, Espio, and Charmy walked out into the hallway.

"Cream is gone!" Vanilla said.

"Ciel, too." Gemini said, exiting his brother's room.

Eno groaned, his suspicions confirmed. A ripple of uneasy conversation spread through the small crowd. "They probably went to join Amy, Bark, and Bean." Eno heard Ray say to Mighty.

"This is ridiculous..." Espio muttered.

"What happened?" Big asked, poking his out of his door.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Eno snapped, instantly commanding the crowd's attention. "Ciel and Cream have run off to join Amy, Bark, and Bean on their mission to rescue Tails." He explained.

"There's food missing from the kitchen," Varahki stated, emerging from the door that lead to the kitchens.

"Why did they have to do this?" Vanilla asked, talking to no one in particular.

"Well, that's how most teenagers behave," Varahki said to her, "Telling them not to do something is only like encouraging them. They do things without thinking first."

"I guess they've decided to go adventuring just like Amy, Bark, and Bean," Ray chuckled.

Varahki shook his head, "No, Ray, not like Amy, Bean, and Bark. They're older. They have experience out in the real world, but Cream and Ciel barely remember what it was like before coming here. They don't know what it's like out there in the real world, and I think they'll have to grow up fast."

Vanilla was alarmed at Varahki's words, "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well," Varahki began, "Look at the food they took. There was pie, soda, cookies, candy, peanut butter, and crackers missing from the kitchen. No traveler would take that kind of food along. It'll be smashed to peices within an hour's march. Right, Eno?"

The cybernetic hedgehog nodded, "It will. I packed special foods for Amy and the others. Wheat bread, dried fruit, granola, cheese, and lots of water."

Vanilla grasped Eno's arm, "You don't think they'll get into any trouble, do you?" She asked frantically.

Eno patted her on the back, "Don't worry. If they pick up Amy's, Bark's, and Bean's trail, they'll be plenty safe, but they won't get any special treatment. Cream and Ciel will have to learn things the hard way. Now if they don't find them, Dry Lagoon is sticking up in plain view for a distance. Once Ciel gets hungry, he'll probably dash back here. Cream would follow. They won't go too far without food; starvation's a cruel teacher."

Vanilla sniffed and wiped away a tear, "I'd feel better is someone would find them and bring them back before they get lost or hurt."

Eno sighed and looked over at Natalie, "Maybe Vanilla is right. Do you think you could catch up to them, Natalie?"

The black cat nodded solemnly, "I'll give it a try."

"Thank you!" Vanilla said, shaking a disgruntled Natalie's hand.

"Uh.. sure, don't mention it." She muttered, heading through the crowd and out into the rain.

"Good luck!" Eno, Varahki, Gemini, and Vanilla called after her as she vanished over the cliff.

"I hope they'll be safe..." Vanilla whispered.

"Don't worry..." Eno muttered, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "They will."

* * *

**Well, there was chapter eleven. I probably won't update till the first or second week of January because of the holidays, and because I have a thirty-five paragraph Biology essay to do. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Shh... I'm taking a break from my Biology essay to write this chapter... but you didn't hear that... **

**Disclaimer: See chapter eight. **

**By the way, if the events in this chapter seem familiar, it's because the general idea for this chapter came from a book called 'Loamhedge'.

* * *

**

**Chapter 12**

**What Becomes of the Disobedient**

"How far have we gone, Ciel?" Cream asked as she and her hedgehog friend trudged through the wet sand of the desert, "It's almost dawn; we've been walking for _hours._"

Ciel yawned and rubbed at his eyes. The exhausted hedgehog craned his neck around and glanced at the dimly lit horizon. "Well," he said, "I can barely see the outline of Dry Lagoon, so we must have gotten pretty far."

"I wonder if they're worried about us," Cream said to Ciel, "I hope they aren't too concerned."

Ciel fingered with his backpack straps. "I'm sure they are worried. Well, Vanilla's worried anyways. Eno, Gemini, and Varahki are probably just mad at me. In fact, they probably sent someone after me..."

Cream sighed and patted her melancholy friend on the shoulder, "There, there, Ciel. Your brother and his friends love you, and I doubt they would send someone after you. Besides, who could they send?"

"Me."

Ciel and Cream shrieked in surprise and jumped into the air. The two bolted, only to be stopped mid-run by two firm hands. "Stop right there, Ciel." Ciel gulped and sank down to the ground. Cream sat down next to him.

Natalie squatted down in front of the two runaways. Strapped across her back was a large spear. Ciel eyed it nervously. Apparently Natalie would be accepting no trouble from them. "Now," the black cat said, "You two are gonna come with me."

"I know, I know..." Ciel muttered, "Eno and Gemini sent you to catch Cream and me and take us back to the base..."

"Please don't, Natalie!" Cream begged, clasping her hands together, "We can't go back there; we'd be in so much trouble!"

"Yeah," Ciel agreed, "We'd never be able to leave our rooms again."

"Would you shut up already!" Natalie snapped at Ciel. "As much as you two brats deserved to be locked away in a room for disobeying those in charge of you... I'm not taking you back." The cat sighed.

"You're not?" Ciel questioned, shocked by Natalie's decision.

"No..." The black cat muttered, "Eno's gonna kill me for it, but I'm gonna let you two catch up to Amy and the others."

"Why?" Cream asked, "You're an adult. Why would you care what two kids do?"

"Watch it, bunny rabbit," Natalie growled, "I was sixteen once, too." The black cat reminded Cream, "I know how it feels to want to rebel. Except when I was your age I couldn't rebel... but you two can, so go ahead. A little rebellion once in a while is healthy. Besides, I'll be with you two to keep you safe."

Ciel and Cream exchanged curious glances. Never before had an adult actually agreed to there shenanigans. "So, you're not going to take us back to the base?"

"No, but I am going to personally escort you to Amy and the others." Natalie said, taking Ciel's backpack.

"I knew there had to be a catch," The hedgehog muttered sullenly.

"Get over it, buddy." Natalie said dryly as she opened up the backpack. "Now, how about breakfast? I'm starving. Chasing two runaways really works up an appetite."

Totally exhausted, Ciel and Cream flopped down near a nearby rock. "I agree with Natalie. I'm starving!"

"Food, food, food," Cream muttered at Ciel, "Is that all you ever think about?" She demanded, "You complained about it all night, too!"

"Oh, give your face a rest, Cream." Ciel said coolly, "Don't be so moody. I'm sure we'll catch up to Amy soon."

Cream whacked Ciel over the head with her soggy backpack, "We're lost, Ciel!" She hollered, "Lost! The rain washed away the trail. For all we know we could have been wandering in circles all night. You're an idiot!"

Ciel closed his eyes and yawned, "Oh don't worry." Natalie's here to help us. She can find Amy for us, or would you rather walk back to Dry Lagoon and face your mom?" He asked with a smile.

Natalie sat down next to Ciel, "Good grief, do you two ever give it a rest? I say we eat some breakfast and rest a bit before we continue."

"Fine," Cream flopped down moodily next to Natalie. She took off her bag and opened. "Ew…." She trailed in disgust before promptly closing the bag again.

"What?" Ciel asked, crawling over to the tossed aside backpack.

"The cookies and crackers got all mashed up, and the soda broke open," Cream explained, "It looks really gross…"

Natalie opened Ciel's bag and wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Same with this one. It looks a cherry pie mixed up with candy bars and peanut butter."

"I wish I had never left home!" Cream whined.

"I wish you had never left either," Ciel joked, "That way there would be more food for me and Natalie! Hahaha…"

"Speak for yourself…" Natalie muttered, tossing the other backpack at Ciel, "Pie squished with candy bars and peanut butter. Just looking at it makes me sick. No one could eat that."

Ciel removed a glove and took the bag. The hedgehog dipped his hand in, coming up with a lump of red and brown paste. He stuffed his hand into his mouth and sucked away the sludge, "Pff… You two don't know what you're missing! This is good food, right here." Ciel spooned in another mouthful. "Mm… You don't know what you're missing!"

"Ew…" Natalie and Cream muttered.

Losing her temper, the black cat picked up the other sack, "You need a bath, Ciel."

The yellow and black hedgehog looked himself over. "No thanks. I think I'm clean enough!"

Natalie dumped the contents of the bag onto Ciel's head. The hedgehog dug himself a pair of eyeholes and grinned at Natalie. "Now you do." The black cat said.

Ciel ignored her and began to lick off his fingers. "Touchy, touchy…" He muttered

Cream threatened him by picking up the other backpack. The hedgehog jumped to his feet. "Alright, alright! I'm outta here!" Ciel scrambled away from the two females and vanished into the wilderness.

Cream groaned and cradled her head in her arms. "This is all my fault!" She cried, "I knew we should've taken better food; that's why I grabbed the peanut butter and crackers!" The rabbit sobbed into her arms for several moments as Natalie sat there watching her while she sucked on a piece of clover she had plucked from the sandy earth.

Unsympathetic, the black cat shrugged. "Yeah, it is all your fault so suck it up, missy. Remember, you can always go back to Dry Lagoon and face the music."

Cream sniffed, "You're right, Natalie." The rabbit sealed up her soggy bag and slung it onto her back. "I'm going to go get Ciel, and then we're going back home…"

Cream's thoughts of abandoning their futile mission were interrupted by Ciel's voice. "Hey! Watch it! Ouch! What do you want?!"

The hedgehog stumbled through the rocks. His clothes were dripping wet, and several big, bulky hedgehogs decked in weeds, shrubs, and multi-colored tattoos prodded him in the back with there crude knives and spears. Natalie reached to her back and pulled loose her massive spear. Cream screamed in alarm and ducked behind the black cat. More hedgehogs, all armed with weapons, materialized out of the rocks. Holding a fairly large gun in his left hand, a hedgehog bigger than the others and with nearly double the tattoos approached Natalie. "Drop the spear." He growled, showing his yellowed fangs. Scared senseless, Natalie let the spear fall from her hand.

Surrounded by several hedgehogs, Ciel appealed to the big hedgehog, "Hey, can you please tell your friends to stop poking me with knives?!" The big hedgehog grunted and whacked Ciel with the butt of his gun. The yellow and black hedgehog doubled over and gasped for breath.

The big hedgehog whirled back around, pointing his gun at Cream and Natalie, stopping them in their tracks as they tried to come to Ciel's defense. "Move again and die," he growled threateningly, "I am Vile, second chief of the Bush-hogs. You are under arrest for trespassing on our kingdom."

"What?!" Cream argued, "We're just passing through! We could care less about your kingdom!"

"Shut up rabbit!" Vile snapped. "We move now!" The big hedgehog said to the other hedgehogs around him. Natalie and Cream were surprised when they realized that there were nearly fifty hedgehogs grouped around the rocks. Three big ones pushed Ciel over to Cream and Natalie. Several hedgehogs dragged chains over to them and roughly shackled their hands and linked their feet together. After quickly slipping blindfolds over their eyes, the hedgehogs prodded Cream, Ciel, and Natalie in the back with their knives and spears.

"Leave now!" Cream heard Vile shout over the hubbub of jeering, laughing, and general talk. The three of them were dragged along like dead animals, tripping, stumbling, and crashing into each other. They were scared out of their minds, and each of them was regretting leaving Dry Lagoon.

------------------------------------------------

Cream had no idea how long she, Ciel, and Natalie had been dragged along by the hedgehogs. She wasn't even sure how long ago the sand had gradually turned to dirt and grass. All she was sure of was how badly she wanted to go home. The place that had seemed to shun her before now seemed very welcoming. There was no where else she would rather be than with her mother and all of her friends.

The rabbit was forced to come crashing back to reality as they suddenly halted. She had no idea where she, her friend Ciel, and Natalie were, but she could hear Vile conversing in another language with someone else. With out warning, Cream felt a knife on the side of her face, cutting through the blindfold. The scrap of fabric was ripped away from her face, and she looked around, examining her surroundings. In front of her, Ciel and Natalie's blindfolds were being torn away as well.

The three of them appeared to be in some kind of forest. Tall trees and patches of shrubbery surrounded them on every side except to the front. In the front of them the trees gave way to a sudden drop. Cream strongly suspected that the drop lead to a deep pool of water.

Scattered among the trees were a multitude of grassy huts streaked with hues of red, green, and blue dyes. More hedgehogs, some young, some old, were grouped around the huts, pointing at the strangers and whispering about them. One, an extremely fat, old hedgehog was standing beside Vile. Ciel also caught of the fat hedgehog and opened his mouth to complain. "What the hell are you doing this to us for? All we were doing was passing by!"

The fat hedgehog slapped Ciel with the butt of the rifle he was carrying. "Shut up, strange hedgehog! You are not worthy to talk to High Chief Max!" The fat, old hedgehog pointed a chubby finger at Cream and Natalie. "Neither are you, so stay shut up!" High Chief Max motioned to three hedgehogs. He shouted something at them in a language Cream had never heard before. The three hedgehogs saluted and scrambled away, only to return a short time later dragging along a large wooden cage.

High Chief Max chuckled to himself as he threw open the cage door. Some hedgehogs behind Cream, Ciel, and Natalie roughly shoved the three of them into the crude enclosure. Natalie scrambled to her knees and crawled towards the edge of the cage. "What do you want us for?" She asked High Chief Max.

The fat hedgehog pointed to the sudden drop-off on the edge of the clearing, "You and friends make good food for big sea monster." He explained, trying to hold back his laughter. "If it no eat you, it eat us!" He chuckled madly. Natalie shrunk back to the cage and sat down besides Cream and Ciel.

"We're being fed to a giant monster?!" Cream exclaimed in disbelief.

"No," Natalie said flatly, "I'm going to find a way to get us out."

"Good," Ciel said, "And when you do, I'm going home!"

"Me too!" Cream agreed.

Natalie shook her head, "In case you haven't noticed, they dragged us from dawn to dusk. There's no way you can go back home now. We're lost in the middle of no where. If we're lucky, Amy and the others took this way and are nearby, but I doubt it."

Cream and Ciel groaned and settled down on the floor of the cage. Bored out of their minds, the two watched the hedgehogs cleaning up their camp and getting ready to settle down for the night. Occasionally, one would pass by the cage and make rude gestures at them. Ciel glanced over at Natalie. The black cat was hunched up in the corner of the cage, muttering to herself. She paused momentarily as two guards settled themselves down at the front of the cage. As darkness fell, Ciel decided that there was nothing to do but sleep. The black and yellow hedgehog sighed and laid down beside Cream, hoping for a miracle.

And that miracle came crashing onto the roof of the cage at around midnight, awakening Ciel and Cream from their slumber. The duo rubbed their eyes sleepily and looked up at the top of the cage in awe. A rock with something bound around its surface was sitting on the bars of the cage. Puzzled, Ciel glanced at Cream. The rabbit shrugged, and the hedgehog stood up to retrieved the stone. He grabbed the edges of it and wedged it through the cracks. Ciel tried to grab it, but it slipped through his fingers and clattered on the bottom of the cage. He and Cream froze, not even daring to breath. The guards grunted in their sleep and shifted positions before drifting back to their slumber. The two of them breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed the stone.

Tied around its smooth surface was a length of twine. Cream quickly undid the knot and unfurled the message. A note, in Amy's handwriting, was scrawled across the surface. "What's it say?" Ciel whispered.

Cream held it up to a patch of moonlight, "It says: Cream and Ciel, wait until after midnight then Bark and Bean will come to help you. Good luck. -Amy."

Ciel glanced over at Cream, "What time is it?" He asked.

Cream shrugged, "I don't know. I don't have watch. Natalie does; ask her."

Ciel looked over at the sleeping figure of Natalie. The black cat was slumped against the back of the cage with her head falling onto her chest. The black and yellow hedgehog knelt down next to her and grabbed her wrist. He punched a button on the digital clock and the luminescent blue screen flashed on. "It's twelve o'seven." Ciel told Cream, standing back up.

"They should be here soon, hopefully." The rabbit said, settling back onto the ground.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bushes behind them rustled. Surprised, Cream and Ciel whirled around to scan the area. The bushes rustled again and a green duck emerged, shortly followed by a large, yellow polar bear. Neither looked very pleased. "Bark, Bean," Ciel whispered to the duo, "You guys came!"

Bark nodded sternly and motioned for Ciel to be quiet. Puzzled, the hedgehog watched the polar bear edge out of the bushes and creep around the cage to where the guards were snoozing. Careful not to make noise, Bark reached into his belt and pulled out his gun. For a second, Cream wondered if he was going to shoot them. Instead, the polar bear whacked the sleeping hedgehogs in between the eyes with the butt of his gun. The guards groaned and slumped forward onto the ground.

As Bark took care of the guards, Bean made his way to the side of the cage. "Hey Bean!" Ciel greeted, running to the bars near the duck.

"Stand back, Ciel!" Bean warned, pulling out a round, black bomb. The green duck struck a match against the bars and lit the fuse. Ciel and Cream scrambled to the corner where Natalie was sleeping. "Look out!" Bean called, throwing the bomb. It clattered against the bars, ticking ominously. The duck hurried away and dove for cover in the nearby bushes. The bomb exploded, sending shards of cage flying across the camp.

Awakened by the noise, Natalie sat up. "Wha… What's going on?" She muttered, startled by the sudden noise.

"We're getting out!" Ciel said, climbing out the wreckage of the cage. "Come on!" Through the clearing smoke, the hedgehog scrambled onto the ground with Cream and Natalie close behind him.

"We need to leave!" Bark said, stowing away the gun, "Someone would've heard that. Go!" He hollered, herding two stumbling teenagers and a sleep-groggy cat towards the forest.

"Ack! They escape! They escape!" An older hedgehog shouted, jumping up and down while pointing at Ciel, Cream, and Natalie.

"They escape! They escape!" More hedgehogs cried, hearing the shouts of their comrades. The odd hedgehogs poured out of their huts and charged at Bark, Bean, and the escapees.

"Ah, damn it!" Bark yelled, pushing Ciel, Cream, and Natalie into the bushes. "Bean, I told you not to use explosives!"

"Sorry, Bark!" Bean said, ducking under a branch as he, his polar friend, Ciel, Cream, and Natalie entered the forest.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Bark repeated, weaving around tree trucks and brambles. "Didn't I specifically say, 'Bean, whatever you do, please don't ruin this by blowing something up.' Didn't I say that?!"

"Alright, I already told you that I'm sorry!" Bean said, looking back over his shoulder. Groggy with sleep and unaccustomed to running, the hedgehog army began to fall behind. As the party of five ran deeper into the forest, the shouts of the hedgehogs gradually faded away.

Disliking any extreme physical activity, Bark slowed to a walk to catch his breath. The others followed his example and dropped down to a slow walk. Bean took this opportunity to question Ciel, Cream, and Natalie. "What are you three doing out here?" He asked, "Eno told you that you couldn't come with us because it was too dangerous."

"We really wanted to come, Bean." Cream explained, "I'm sorry that we disobeyed Eno and Gemini. Are you going to take us back to Dry Lagoon?"

"It's too late for that." At the sound of Amy's voice, Ciel and Cream turned around to face the pink hedgehog. She was standing with her hands on her hips. Cream felt a pang of disappointed in herself as Amy's disapproving stare burned into her.

"We're too far away from Dry Lagoon. It would take a whole day to get you guys back, but that doesn't mean it's alright for you to be doing this," Amy lectured, "You deliberately disobeyed Eno, Gemini, Vanilla, and the other adults who told you not to come. Even worse, you dragged another person into your schemes."

"No, they didn't." Natalie said rather dryly, "Eno sent me to find them and bring them back to the base. _I _was the one who allowed them to keep going. I told them that I'd guide them to you."

"I don't mean to sound rude," Amy said cautiously, "but who are you?"

"Natalie Barlow," the black cat introduced herself, "I helped you, that polar bear, his dopey friend, an armadillo, and a flying squirrel escape from the Kingdom of Lost Sands."

"I thought so." Amy muttered, "Did you follow us or something?"

Bark glanced over at Ciel, realizing that Amy had no idea why the cat from the desert was standing in front of her. "Should I explain or should you?" Ciel whispered to Bark.

"I'll do it…" Bark muttered back to the yellow and black hedgehog. He turned his attention to Amy. "She followed us from the desert because she had a feeling on of us would lead her to a Chaos Emerald. When I went to the lagoon, Ciel had one. She saw it and attacked us, but she fell into the water. After I fished her out, we took her back to the base."

"Thanks," Natalie sneered at the polar bear, "but, you know, I am capable of explaining things myself."

"Oh, shut up!" Bark snapped, "If it weren't for me, little fishes would be nibbling on your carcass!"

"Like I asked you save me!" Natalie hollered.

"Fine! Next time you fall into a lagoon, I'll leave you there to drown!" Bark shouted.

"Fine!" She screamed back at him before stomping away to lean against another tree. Bean, Amy, and Cream exchanged confused glances. What was that all about?

"I'm going to set up camp…" Amy trailed, pulling a sleeping bag from her sack.

"I'll help." Cream quickly volunteered.

"I'm going to go look for some fire wood." Bean said, hurrying away into the forest. From her stop on the tree, Natalie shot a glare at Bark that could've melted a safe. The polar bear glared back. As she rolled out her sleeping bag, Amy shook her head sadly and said. With these two fighting the whole trip, it was going to be one long journey.

* * *

**Whoo hoo! Nine pages long; I think that's a new record. Anyways, sorry about the delay.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: see chapter eight.

* * *

**

**Chapter 13**

**The Forest of Vegetables, Romance, and Voices**

Far away from the cozy little forest Ciel, Cream, and Natalie had found themselves stuck in along with Amy, Bark, and Bean, laid a harsher, fiercer land. A land filled with shadows and eerie noises. A land that only appeared as a splotch of green on any normal, non-scientific map. This was a land where nightmarish creatures stalked through the thick vines that hung down like long tentacles from the gnarled oak trees.

A lizard, dark green a flecked with brown, scampered onto a rock. It blinked its liquid eyes twice as it surveyed its surroundings. Sensing some sort of danger, it scurried off the rock and into the vines, only to be thrown off moments later as the vines were suddenly shorn halfway down from their base. A tall yet stocky purple coyote emerged from the gap. She was decked in the same outfit she had been wearing early that morning. She paused only to wipe the sweat from her brow and to sheath the machete she had used to butcher the vines moments ago. After securing her large knife, she pulled a hand-held metal device from a slot her belt. She pressed a button, and a flashing red dot appeared on the screen. "Hm, the walk to the base didn't take as long as I thought it would." She muttered to herself.

The stocky coyote brushed aside some overgrown bushes to reveal a standard metal door. It had no doorknob; instead, a box, also made of metal, covered with twelve or so buttons was drilled to the doorframe. The narrow screen on top of the box flashed on. "Identify yourself." A mechanical voice demanded.

"Eliah." The purple coyote answered.

"Voice match confirmed. Please enter password." The voice droned. Eliah quickly punched the seven-digit code on the number pad.

"Password confirmed." The voice announced as the door slid open with a faint hiss. Eliah smirked and slipped into the room behind the door. With another hiss, the metal door closed, leaving her in near darkness; the only light coming from a glowing green light somewhere in the room. Knowing the inside of the room like the back of her gloved hand, the coyote made her way over to a padded seat and tapped a glowing green button. A screen positioned above the button clicked on, filling the room with a watery grey light.

"I found them." Eliah said, speaking into a tiny microphone set below the glowing button. "They were headed towards the Mystic Ruins, which means that they're probably somewhere near that forest. They should be here by tomorrow evening."

"Hmph, excellent." A slightly haughty voice said. "If everything goes according to my plans, the Doctor should be out of the way by tomorrow morning. Such a shame that he won't be recovering from this sickness… that medicine Rouge is giving him must not be working…" The voice said with a faint sadistic laugh.

Eliah narrowed her eyes. "What about that scientist you kidnapped?" She asked.

"You mean Tails?" The voice asked, "He's been very cooperative. Well, anyone is with the right motivation… He just finished building me a very handy robotizing ray gun. I can't wait to try it out… By the way, I want you to send that wolf kid you mentioned out into the forest to find that polar bear and stupid duck."

Eliah frowned. That wolf and his sister she had caught last week weren't exactly very cooperative. "I doubt he would agree to do that for you." She stated, voicing her thoughts.

The voice chuckled. "Like I said before, Eliah. With the proper motivation, he'll do anything I tell him to… Go down to the holding cells and tell him that if does this for me, I promise that nothing bad will happen to his sister…"

Eliah nodded, despite the fact that she was conversing though a blank screen. "Yes sir. I'll do that right away."

"Perfect." The screen turned back off, plunging Eliah back into the darkness. The purple coyote wasted no time. She rose from the seat and crept off down one of the room's many corridors. She threw open the wooden door at the end of the hall and slammed it behind her. If she was lucky, she could have this kid out there tracking them down by dawn tomorrow. The sooner she got that kid out looking for them, then the sooner she could kick back, relax, and enjoy the rest of her day.

* * *

"How long are you two going to keep this up?" Amy asked as she pulled a red sleeping bag out of her bag. Not really expecting an answer, but waiting for one anyways, the pink hedgehog cleared all the stray twigs and stones away from the ground before unrolling her bag and smoothing out all the wrinkles. Natalie and Bark turned their heads away from Amy. Neither of them had an answer for the hedgehog. 

"I'm back with the wood, Amy!" Bean called cheerily as he wandered out of the dense forest and into the make-shift camp.

"Great," Amy said, "Give it to Ciel; he said that he would make the fire."

Bean nodded and handed the stack of wood to Ciel. The puny black and yellow hedgehog staggered under the weight as he stumbled over to the shallow pit he had dug moments earlier.

"So…" Bean began as he kneeled down by his bag and pulled out a dark green sleeping bag, "What are we gonna do about Bark and Natalie?" He asked Amy.

"Well," said Amy as she absentmindedly watched Ciel stacking the wood inside the fire pit, "They still aren't speaking to each other. I guess we could have Bark help Cream make dinner, and Natalie could go scout ahead. We do need someone to do that…" She added quickly.

"Alright," Bean said as he handed Ciel a pack of matches. "But I don't think Bark can cook…" He snickered.

From his spot against the tree, Bark whirled his head around and shot a glare at Bean. "You know what; I'm not _that _bad at cooking!" He snapped at his friend.

On the other tree, Natalie rolled her eyes, "Yeah? Well, then prove it to us." She sneered. Bark mouthed several foul words at the black cat before abandoning his position at the tree and sulking over to large rock where Cream had set up a pile of fruit, bread, vegetables, cheese, and other healthy-looking foods. Bark groaned to himself. He was an awful cook… Pasta, sandwiches, toast… No matter what the food, he always managed to ruin it. He had even accidentally set fire to a pot of water once…

"So what do want me do?" Natalie asked Amy as she walked over to the pink hedgehog.

"I want you to wander up ahead into the forest and see if you can find a path, a road, or something else…" Amy explained. "Just come back before dark, and don't get lost."

"Alright." Natalie said rather curtly before turning her back on the hedgehog and walking off into the forest.

"What's her problem?" Ciel asked no one in particular. The yellow and black hedgehog slid off the match box cover, pulled out one of the red tipped beauties, and struck it against the sandy surface of a nearby rock. The match sizzled to life, its bright flame dancing joyously around the tip of the match. Ciel tossed it down into the fire pit and watched as the flames swiftly devoured the scraps of brush and twigs that had been stuffed into every crack between the logs.

"Gee, I and thought _I _could be a bit of a pyro sometimes." Bean said, watching the young hedgehog gaze into the rapidly forming fire.

"I'm not a pyro." Ciel defended, "I just think fire's cool! It's just so bright… and when it hits metal it makes it shiny…" He said in a dreamy voice.

Amy raised an eyebrow at the littler hedgehog's observation, but she said nothing and turned back to setting out extra blankets and pillows for the three unexpected additions to their party.

"Great, there's two of them…" Bark muttered, looking from Ciel to Bean and back again.

Cream gently shoved a bowl into Bark's hands. "Stir that." She ordered as she pulled a small knife out of one of the bags and started chopping up an assortment of vegetables.

Bark cautiously sniffed the concoction Cream had handed him. "What is this?" He asked the rabbit.

"Cornbread mix," she answered sweetly, tossing the vegetables into a small metal cauldron. "We're having cornbread and vegetable soup."

"Vegetable soup?" Bark repeated, wrinkling his nose in disgust. He had always made it a point to avoid anything slimy and green that came out of the ground- including vegetables.

"Yes… is something wrong that, Bark?" Cream asked in the same polite manner she almost always used.

"Uh, no," he answered quickly, not wanting to upset Cream, "I've just never had it before, that's all."

"You've never had vegetable soup? Are you serious?" Amy asked as she spread out an orange fringed blanket. Eno had packed them extra blankets just in case they ran into cold weather. Even though were in a fairly temperate forest, the blankets would come in handy when it came to Ciel, Cream, and Natalie.

"Pff, forget vegetable soup, Amy," Bean began with a good-natured chuckle, "Bark's never even eaten a vegetable!"

"That's not true!" Bark defended as he rapidly stirred the cornbread mix. "Fries are made from potatoes, and potatoes are a vegetable!"

"Yeah, a deep fried vegetable!" Amy teased.

"But a vegetable none the less." Bark pointed out. He handed the bowl back to Cream. "Now what do I have to do?" He asked.

Cream shook her head, "That's okay, Bark. You don't have to help me anymore if you don't want to…" The young rabbit trailed, attempting to guilt trip Bark into still helping her.

"Great." The polar bear said, oblivious to the attempt at making him feel guilty. He ducked away from the rock that served as a countertop and made his way over to his bag. Bark pulled out a sleeping bag, identical to the one Amy and Bean had laid out, the only difference being its color. He tossed the dark purple sleeping bag onto the ground on a patch of dirt in between Bean's sleeping bag and a patch of blankets. The polar bear flopped down on the padded cover.

"I'm gonna take a snooze," He announced, "Wake me up when dinner's done."

"Okay." Amy said as she walked over to the rock counter to help Cream carry the cauldron of soup over to the fire.

Bark sighed and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Somewhere in the distance a bird chirped. It was so peaceful, so serene, here when that cat was gone. There was no one to argue with, only naps to be taken and meals to be eaten. _Natalie's not that bad… _A tiny little voice in the back of Bark's tickled. The polar bear mentally cringed. What was he saying? Natalie was a pain in the butt. He had saved her lived, but she still felt the need to argue with him about every little thing. _I hope she falls off a cliff. _The more dominant voice in his mind stated. Bark smirked to himself. That thought appealed to him much more. _No one deserves to die. _The tiny voice whispered into his conscious. He inwardly groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. All he wanted to do was sleep, not have his thoughts plagued by someone he didn't really care about. _…But you could care about her if you wanted to… _The small voice murmured.

"SHUT UP!" Bark hollered as he threw himself into a sitting position. A hushed silence fell over the small camp as Amy, Bean, Ciel, and Cream stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

"Are you okay, Bark?" Amy asked suspiciously.

"I'm fine…" The polar bear muttered. He flopped back onto the sleeping bag and shut his eyes once again.

"What's up with him?" Ciel asked Cream as he helped the rabbit position the kettle of soup over the fire.

Cream shrugged, "Who knows. He seems really edgy with Natalie around, though. I guess she really gets on his nerves."

"No kidding." Ciel muttered as he slid the cauldron's lid on. Delicious streams of fragrant smoke wafted through the cracks.

"I think he likes her." Cream whispered to Ciel as she molded the cornbread mix into little cakes and set them on a flat metal sheet.

"What?" Ciel said, "Are you crazy? They hate each other's guts." The hedgehog pointed out as he watched Cream place the metal sheet on the edge of the fire.

She shrugged again. "I don't know. Hatred is an act of passion; so is romance."

Puzzled, Ciel screwed up his face, "Man, I do not get this whole romance thing!" The hedgehog stated.

"Don't worry, Ciel." Amy said as she sat down next to the yellow and black hedgehog, "You'll get it one of these days when you meet that special someone that you'll want to spend the rest of your life with…"

The childish hedgehog gagged. Cream giggled, "Poor Ciel… Too mushy for you?"

"Don't feel bad Ciel." Bean said, "I'm in my mid-twenties, and I still haven't met that 'special someone'."

"I wonder why..." Cream mumbled to herself.

"Aw, man! You mean I'm gonna be single until I'm old!" Ciel wailed.

"Hey! I'm not old!" Bean said. "Bark is old. I'm still young!" The duck turned his back on the three of them in mock anger.

Amy rolled her eyes and patted her green friend on the shoulder. "There, there Bean. It's okay. Embrace your oldness!"

Cream and Ciel broke out in laughter. "Hehe… we're just kidding Bean!" Cream giggled. "You're not _that_ old."

Bean grinned, "I know! I know you two are just kidding."

"Haha," Amy said in between giggles, "I wasn't!"

The green duck opened his mouth to retaliate with some smart comeback, but he was suddenly interrupted as a raucous screech tore through the air. "What the heck?" Ciel questioned as he scrambled to his feet.

"It came from the forest." Amy pointed out as she, Cream, and Bean stood up beside Ciel.

"Do you think Natalie is in some kind of trouble?" Cream asked Amy.

The pink hedgehog shook her head, "I doubt it. Natalie can take care of herself. It must be something else."

Bean swiftly grabbed the gun from his bag and stuffed it in his belt, "Ciel, wake up Bark. You and Cream stay here, and Bark, Amy, and I will go see what's going on."

Amy distastefully took the gun Eno had given her out of the bag. Whatever was out there, they'd be ready to deal with it…

* * *

**Sorry for not updating sooner and for making the chapter a little short. I've been really busy...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry, I've been very busy with school and stuff. **

**Disclaimer: Sega owns all original characters. Eliah and Natalie belong to me, Ciel and his brothers belong to Ciel the Hedgehog, and Sino and Inia belong to Blue Mage Quartet.

* * *

**

**Chapter 14**

**Run Bark, Run!**

Trees and shrubbery rushed by in a crazed blur of green as Bark hurried to catch up with Amy and Bean, who were a considerable distance ahead of him. The polar bear dodged a large boulder and scrambled madly down a steep hill, struggling to keep his footing. He splashed through a small stream and then ran through a small meadow, splashing through stagnant, murky water. "Damn you, Ciel…" He gasped as he paused to catch his breath, cursing the hedgehog that had woken him several minutes after the others had left.

"Damn you… Damn you…" He repeated as he trudged through the meadow and wandered back into another stretch of forest. Finally, just when he thought it would be best to sit down and wait for them to come back, he ran into them. Literally.

"Bark!" Amy shouted as she struggled to free herself from pile of polar bear and duck. "Watch where you're going!" She scolded, reaching out to help Bean out the mess. The duck gratefully accepted the hand, and Amy pulled him up. He flashed her a grin and dusted the dirt off himself.

"It's no big deal…" He reassured, "Bark was just hurrying to catch up."

Amy sighed, "I know, Bean… but, still, he should have been a little more careful."

"Hey," Bark said as he climbed back to his feet, "You can stop talking about me. I'm standing right here."

"Sorry," Amy apologized, "We didn't mean to imply that you weren't here."

"Whatever." The polar bear brushed the dirt off his scarf and hat and pushed aside some large, scraggly bushes. He pressed on through the dense underbrush, ignoring the brambles that tugged at his pale fur. Not bothering to wait for Amy and Bean, Bark kicked aside a medium sized rock that was unfortunate enough to be lying in his path.

"Hey, wait up, Bark!" Amy called as she and Bean rushed to catch up with the temperamental polar bear. He did not slow his pace, instead he quickened it, making his two friends run faster.

"What's up, Bark?" Bean panted as he jogged alongside his friend of old days, "You seem a little… off."

Bark narrowed his eyes, "Don't waste my time with stupid questions, Bean. Nothing's wrong; I just want to find Natalie and get back on track. It's already been two days; who knows how much longer Tails has? I want to find him, go home, and have this whole thing be done with. I miss my old life…"

"What life?" Amy asked as Bark slowed his pace to a walk, "You lived alone in a crappy apartment."

The polar bear tossed a glare in her direction, "How would you know?" He demanded.

"Bean told me, so cut the crap." Amy retaliated.

On the other side of Bark, Bean arched his eyebrows. "Leave me out of this." He quickly said, raising his hands in defense against the frustrated hedgehog. She sure had acquired a temper over the years, but that came as no surprise seeing who she had lived with for the past seven years. Ciel and his miscreant brothers had to be annoying.

"All I'm saying is that you live alone, you have no friends, and you're acting like a stubborn child!" Amy explained to the sulky polar bear.

Of course, Bark denied it. "That's not true!" He retorted, "I do too have friends. I have Bean and… um… that one dude who helped me and Bean get some Chaos Emeralds a while back… What was his name?" He asked, racking his brain in an attempt to produce a scrap of proof to Amy.

"Um…" Bean trailed, trying to help Bark out. "Uh… uh…"

"Oh well!" Bark snapped, "The point is that I have Bean so therefore I _do_ have friends."

"Yeah," Bean agreed, "Besides, I don't have that many friends either. I only really have Bark as a friend."

"…And Amy." Bark added with hint of jealously, "And Mighty, and Ray, and Ciel… You know what Bean, you consider pretty much everyone you're friend."

"Hm, that _is_ true." Bean agreed as he pushed aside a bunch of reeds. With a loud squelching sounded, the duck stepped off of the solid ground and into a marshy patch of soil.

"Yuck…" Amy muttered as she followed him into the marsh. "I feel it squelching under my shoes…"

Bark gagged at the ripe smell of the marsh water, but he gingerly followed Amy into it. It sloshed in protest as his foot sank into the mixture of dirt, water, and decomposing plants. The polar bear was thrown off balance as his foot sank deeper into the marsh. He shouted out in surprise as he ungracefully stumbled forward into the sticky, muddy water.

_Splunk! _The wet smacking sound was similar to a stone hitting water. Amy and Bean grimaced at the sound and turned around to see their friend lying in the marsh. He slowly slid into a kneeling position. His face was cracked with mud, and a trailing string of green plant was stuck to his filthy forehead.

"Are you alright?" Amy asked as Bark spat a mouthful of sludge.

The polar raised a muddy hand and wiped the goop from his eyes. "I'm fine…" He sputtered as he spat more of the marsh mud out of his mouth.

"You smell really bad." Bean pointed out, secretly thankful that it wasn't him that had fallen.

"I know." Bark muttered. He wiped more mud from his face and coughed in an attempt to clear the last of the sludge from his mouth.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here before another one of us falls." Amy said. She waded past Bean and to the front of the trio. She swatted at a nearby gnat. "This place gives me the creeps."

Bean silently glanced at the watch strapped around his wrist. "Well," he said, "It's two twenty-three. It won't be getting light for a while so we'll have to keep going in the dark."

"So by the time we find Natalie and get back to camp," Amy continued, "It will probably be around four o'clock so I guess we're eating sort of a breakfast/dinner combination."

Bark sighed and listened to the rumbling of his stomach. "Ugh, I think we should split up so we can find Natalie faster." He suggested.

"That's a good idea." Amy agreed.

Bark nodded, "Bean, go with Amy. You guys look that way; I'll go this way." Not waiting for any sounds of approval or disapproval from either Amy or Bean, Bark set of in the opposite direction that they had. After wading for the marsh for what seemed like an eternity but was really only ten minutes, the polar bear felt the ground beneath his feet change from soggy silt to hard-packed dirt.

He shook the sticky mud from his shoes and clambered up onto the dry, hard ground. Grateful to be out of the marsh, he flopped down on the grass and took several deep breaths. The cool night breeze blew through his dirty fur, hardening his mud-coated fur into spikes. He closed his eyes and listening to faint chirping of crickets and the sound of the wind blowing through tree branches. Suddenly, his ears picked up the snapping of a twig beneath a shoe. Beneath a running shoe. The kind Natalie wore.

Bark quickly sat up and peered around into the darkness. On the not-so-distance horizon he could see the outline of a grove of trees. For a brief second he thought he saw a shadow lurking around in the dark near the trees. He stood up and hurried to the tree grove, trying to make as little noise as possible.

By the time he reached the tree line he could see Natalie's silhouette against the tree shadows. Apparently, she hadn't noticed Bark since she kept slinking along the tree line. It looked as if she was looking for something.

Still careful not to make any noise, Bark cautiously followed her down the edge of the tree grove. About halfway down, she quickly ducked under the over hanging branches and vanished into the shadows. The polar bear followed after her, being careful not to whack his forehead on the low-hanging branches.

It was eerily quite in the tree grove. No crickets chirped here and there was no sound of the wind blowing through the branches. Even worse, Bark had lost sight of Natalie, and his main goal now was to get out of the grove in one piece. He winced as his smacked against a large tree branch. Well, two pieces would be nice, too…

Suddenly, he heard a faint snicker from the branches above him. Just as Bark was about to shout at who he suspected to be Natalie, a large tree branch, about as long as his arm and twice as thick, flew out of no where and crashed into him. Completely winded, he toppled backwards under the branch's weight. There was another snicker from up above. Bark pushed away the branch and scrambled to his feet. With a quiet rustle, Natalie leapt down from the tree branches and gracefully landed in front of Bark.

"Why are you following me?" She asked, any traces of the glee she had felt over Bark's injury totally gone.

"Why did you scream?" Bark questioned. He could feel the fur on the back of his neck prickling in familiar hostility.

"I didn't." She said rather dryly. The black cat yawned and leaned back against the closest tree.

"Then who did?" Bark asked. Normally he would think of some sort of smart comeback, but right now he didn't have the energy.

The black cat wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Why do you smell like a sewer? Or is that just the natural smell of polar bears?" She quipped.

Natalie gasped for air as Bark grabbed her by the throat. She wildly pawed at his hands as he tightened his grip. "What the hell did you do?" Bark demanded, his voice dangerous. "Who screamed? Tell me so we can get back to camp before dawn. And no smart remarks. All I have to do is squeeze…" He pressed down harder on Natalie's throat for emphasis.

"I'll tell…" She chocked out. Bark let go of her throat, leaving her stunned and gasping for air. "What the hell is your problem?" She muttered as she rubbed at her now tender throat.

"You." Bark said, "Now tell me who screamed."

Natalie hitched her thumb in the direction of the center of the tree grove. "This little fuzzy thing I found when I was looking around. I must have surprised her, and she freaked out when she saw me."

Bark crossed his arms and glared at the cat through the darkness. "Show me."

"Fine. Follow me." Before Bark could object, Natalie bounded off into the trees, ducking under branches and somersaulting through the leafy underbrush. With a grumble of despair, the polar bear jogged after the nimble cat.

* * *

Some people say that they could never get used to living in total darkness. Sino the wolf disagreed. He had no idea how long he had been in this small, cramped cell that reeked of rusty metal and moldy bread; it seemed like an eternity, but Sino knew it couldn't have been more than two weeks. It didn't matter. He had long ago become accustomed to the undisturbed blackness of his lonely cell.

Actually, he wasn't quite sure if he was all alone in the cell. Yes, there were rats and mice scurrying around in the dark, but besides the sound of their claws scratching at the concrete ground, Sino could sometimes hear the sound of chains rustling and the shallow breathing of another being. He had tried to communicate, but whoever was in there with him was unwilling to make contact.

Sino sighed and shifted position. The chains that bound him to the stone wall clinked softly together and echoed around the cell. Across the room, the mysterious occupant's chains chinked against the wall as they also changed position. "If only there was some way they would talk to me." Sino thought to himself. "Then I wouldn't be so lonely."

His wishful thoughts were interrupted as the sound of brass keys jangling together drifted through the stone walls and reached Sino's ears. The sound of boots pounding against concrete followed, and the wolf sat up. Was someone actually coming down to the cells? The heavy wood door creaked open. Sino's chains clanged together as he huddled up against the wall and shielded his eyes from the blinding yellow light that poured in from the hallway.

He squinted his eyes together, trying to clear the blurry image in front of him. As the pictured slowly cleared, Sino could see the outline of a stocky purple coyote standing in the cell's doorway. The wolf took the opportunity to shoot a glance across the cell. Hunched against the stone wall was a grey bird. Judging by the folds of feathers hanging down off his body, Sino assumed that he had once been bulky, and that he had been in this cell for a lot longer than he had.

The wolf boy turned his attention back to the purple coyote. "You…" His voice cracked. It had been so long since had spoken. Sino struggled to his feet and took a fighting stance.

"Don't waste your energy, boy." Eliah laughed. "You'll need it. Shadow sent me down here to get you. It seems he has some kind of 'special' job for you."

"Where's my sister?" Sino demanded, his voice still weak.

Eliah smirked as she walked into the cell. "She's in the same place I left her. Don't worry. She's just fine. Well, she will be as long as you and Mr. Prower cooperate." The malevolent coyote roughly grabbed Sino's wrists and unlock the chains. The manacles clattered to the floor. The wolf rubbed at his chaffed wrists, grateful to have the free use of his limbs.

"I want to see her." Sino ordered as his voice grew stronger.

Eliah reached into the back of her belt and pulled out a set of shiny new manacles. She clamped them around Sino's wrists and dragged him through the doorway. "Don't worry. You'll see her very soon…"

* * *

**Well, sorry it's not as long as the other chapters. I'll try to add the next one as soon as possible. **


	15. Chapter 15

**I said I wasn't going to continue, but I found inspiration. Yay.

* * *

**

**Chapter 14**

**Switchbacks**

Back at the makeshift camp, Ciel had dozed off on a sleeping bag. The yellow and black hedgehog was sprawled out on the downy surface. A puddle of drool, fed by a trickle coming from Ciel's open mouth, rested under his chin. The fire besides him glowed an eerie red as the embers glowed.

From her seat on the sleeping bag across from Ciel, Cream tossed a handful of twigs and small branches onto the embers. The glow brightened as the sticks ignited. Cream yawned and stared into the blaze. She was tired. Under any other circumstances, the rabbit would gladly be in fast asleep in her nice warm bed. But some one had to stay awake, and since Ciel was currently incapacitated, it would have to her.

She shivered as a cool breeze blew through the trees. Across from her, Ciel snuffled in his sleep and rolled onto his back. Another breeze cut through the forest. Chilled, Cream grabbed a nearby blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She hoped Amy and the others would be back soon. The forest seemed much creepier now that she was alone. The only to break the silence was Ciel's soft gurgling.

Cream instinctively sat up as she heard a bush rustle in the darkness. She flinched in surprise as she saw a dark shape bolt out of the trees. The rabbit breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a chao. She was being paranoid. Cream yawned and threw more sticks onto the dying fire. Her eyelids were heavy. She wanted to sleep, badly, but she had to stay awake. If some unfriendly creature stumbled upon the camp, she was the only line of defense.

* * *

Bean was beginning to grow uneasy. He and Amy had been searching for hours. His feet were starting to hurt, and even worse the swamp they were wading through seemed to go on forever. The sticky mud had seeped into his shoes and he could it squelching beneath his toes as he trudged along. It was a very uncomfortable situation. 

"Amy?" He asked, "How much further do you think it is?"

The answer came from the darkness ahead of Bean. "I don't know. It can't be too much further."

Bean swatted at a pesky mosquito as it zoomed by his face. "Do you think Bark's found Natalie yet?" He asked.

"I don't know." Amy replied again. Bean could hear her shoes sloshing in the mud somewhere in front of him.

He shivered as a cool wind blew past them. For a second, he thought he saw a pair of glowing green eyes. Bean blinked. They were gone. This place was starting to unnerve him…

"I think we should go back to camp." He said. His voice sounded hollow and scared- exactly how he felt. "Cream and Ciel might be scared all by themselves." Bean added quickly, trying cover up his fear.

"I doubt it." Amy said. She paused for a moment. "Bean, are you scared?" She said at last.

Bean laughed. He knew it sounded fake. "No. Of course not. Why would you think that?"

The sloshing sound ceased, and Bean assumed that Amy had stopped walking. "Bean, it's alright if you're scared. Everyone gets scared. We can go back if you want to."

The duck sighed. "Yes. I'm scared. Can we please go back?" He pleaded.

"Of course."

In the inky darkness, he felt Amy grab his hand. "Don't be scared." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze before letting go and continuing to walk through the swamp. His face hot beneath his feathers, Bean followed her.

* * *

Cream pulled the blanket closer to her. She was staring to get a little freaked out. Someone should have been back by now. Cream wished she had a watch. At least then she could see what time it was. She suddenly remembered that Ciel was wearing a digital watch. She crawled over to the sleeping hedgehog and grabbed his wrist. The illuminated surface of the watch read three fifteen. She still had a while to go before dawn. 

Cream carefully set Ciel's arm back down, being careful not to wake him. She crawled back over to her sleeping bag and threw more sticks onto the fire. The rabbit huddled back into the blanket and rocked back and forth, trying to calm her nerves. She was starting to get really unsettled. Ciel had stopped his snuffling; the forest was dead silent. The only sounds were the occasional hooting of an owl or the rustle of a bush. The rabbit prodded the embers with a long stick. The fire was starting to die down and even worse- she was running out of twigs.

Cream jumped as a branch suddenly snapped.

She heard a muted snuffing sound. It sounded like something was rooting around the ground. In the ghostly red light, Cream could clearly see Ciel's sleeping figure on the sleeping bag and the makeshift table beyond it. She could see the outline of the bowl that she had used to mix cornbread. The flat metal sheet used to bake the corn cakes was lying on a rock. The little yellow cakes had been fully cooked, but no one had eaten them. Ciel and Cream were waiting for Amy and the others to return before they touched the food.

The soup cauldron was sitting on the ground near the rock. Its contents were still fairly warm. Cream had taken the liberty to reheat the cauldron every hour or so. Beyond the cauldron, the rabbit saw the dark outline of some sort of animal. It was creeping close to the ground with its belly dragging in the dirt. It was sniffing the air and edging closer and closer to the food. Cream drew in a deep breath and slowly edged towards Amy's bag. The animal did not look up. Its eyes were fixed on the food.

Cream grabbed the handle of the bag and fumbled with the latch. Her eyes never strayed from the strange animal as she felt through the bag until she found what she was looking for. A knife. Her hand closed tightly around the handle and she yanked it out of the sack. Cream leapt to her feet and charged at the animal, shouting and screaming. The creature squealed in fright and scampered into the bushes.

"Wah? What just happened?" Ciel asked groggily. The hedgehog had been awakened by Cream's shouts. "What happened?" He repeated, staring at the knife in Cream's hand.

The young rabbit was pacing along the bush line. "There was some kind of animal crawling over here looking for food. I think it might come back."

"Alright," Ciel yawned. He clambered to his feet. "What do you want me to do? It's just a little animal-thing. I don't think it's going to hurt us." Ciel paused.

"You look like you need sleep." He observed. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll watch for big, scary animals." The hedgehog grinned and took the knife from Cream.

* * *

Secretly, Amy was also beginning to get a little worried. They had been trudging through the swamp for what seemed like an eternity. She had tried to retrace her steps exactly, but the possibility that they were going the wrong way continually nagged at her mind. What if they were lost? What if they would never get out of here? Would they die here? 

"Amy…" Bean whispered in the darkness.

"What?"

"I see trees. I think it might be the forest where we split up with Bark." The green duck explained. He hoped they were. He really hoped they were. There was nothing he wanted to do more than get out of this marsh.

* * *

Eliah was bored. The purple coyote impatiently drummed her fingers on the metallic surface of her desk. She had done everything she had needed to do. Sino had been briefed on what he needed to do, the voltage on the little wolf brat's cage had been checked, and the bolts in that scientist's chains had been tighten. Now, it was time for her to relax and do what she loved to do best. Snoop. 

Eliah turned on the large computer monitor on the desk in front of her. The monitor whirred and the large screen changed from black to glowing blue. In bold white letters, the words "Enter User" glowed on the screen. The purple coyote punched in her full name. "Eliakashio Sinclaire" blared across the screen. She hit the enter button and a beep confirmed her identity. An options menu came up.

"Hm, what do I want to do?" Eliah said to herself, reading the text on the screen. "How about…. Connect."

The purple coyote navigated her mouse and clicked on the "Connect" button.

"Enter access code ID." A monotone voice commanded.

Eliah rapidly typed in the code. "276-Y3-0087"

"Connecting…" The same monotone voice said. Eliah strummed her fingers on the desk again. As soon as this connected, she would have a bird's eye view of everything Sino did, thanks to a convenient camera located on Sino's wristband. She wanted to make sure he would not fail. If he failed, it would be her job on the line.

A picture flashed on the screen. Eliah leaned forward anxiously and stared at the screen. It was dark outside, but Eliah could see the outlines of trees and bushes as Sino passed them. Eliah minimized out of the live feed and brought a new window. She entered the same code as before. This time, a map of the area came up. A flashing red dot indicated Sino's position. Eliah grinned. By tomorrow afternoon, Sino should be meeting up with that polar bear…

* * *

**Sorry if the chapter wasn't as long as usual. I will update again. I promise!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Told you I'd continue.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 16 **

**Welcome to Central City **

Sino, the rust colored wolf from the moldy jail cell, was not in a pleasant mood. It had barely been barely an hour since that malicious coyote Eliah had sent him out into this hellish forest. But the wolf was grateful for the freedom, even if it was for a limited amount of time. Sino shifted the standard issue canvas backpack that had been handed to him at the last minute by Eliah. It contained basic supplies: some packaged food, a canteen of water, matches, a pocket knife, some rope, a flashlight, and a small pistol. He moved the bag farther up onto his shoulders before nimbly sliding down a muddy slope.

Droplets of mud sloshed up off the ground and spattered his legs. The cool mud felt good against his achy legs. In some places on Sino's legs, the fur had been rubbed off, leaving raw patches of skin. When he reached the bottom of the slope, he scooped of a handful of the mud and lathered it onto the raw spots. The soothing coolness eased the pain. Sino rubbed more mud onto his chaffed wrists. He knew it made him look a little unusual, but it felt so good. Sino walked away from the mud puddle. Off to the left was a thick grove of trees. To the right was an open plain. Since it was still a few hours from daybreak, Sino decided to journey through the plain. It was nearly a full moon, and he would need all the visibility he could get. The wolf headed down the trail. His feet ached; they had gotten tender from lack of use during his stay in the dungeon cell.

Sino's gaze drifted from the dirt trail to the black velvet sky. Millions and millions of stars dotted the night sky. Sino found himself subconsciously pointing out each constellation he knew. It was so relaxing, so peaceful, out here. He sighed. He wished his sister Inia could be here with him. The rust-furred wolf's heart ached for her. Eliah had allowed him to see her before he was sent away. She was locked up in a cage wired with electric bars.

"She'll be just fine- as long as you do everything you're told."

Eliah's words echoed in Sino's head. He hoped she would keep her word. It was doubtful, but maybe deep down Eliah was just like him. Maybe she was another normal Mobian forced against their will to obey a ruthless master. Maybe she really would let Inia and him free once he had taken care of this polar bear. Maybe.

Sino shifted the pack on his back again and stared at the horizon. He could see several rocky peaks connected only by thin rails outlined in pale white against the black sky. They looked treacherous, but Sino knew he would have to cross them if he wanted to reach the forest Eliah had spoken of. The formidable peaks loomed above Sino as he drew closer to them. Up ahead, the road forked into three separate paths. A beaten wooden sign had been hammered into the ground where they split.

Sino paused at the sign. He wasn't sure which way he should take. He had thought it would be simple: go through the plain, through the rocky peaks, and into the forest. But two paths appeared to lead to the peaks and the other appeared to continue on through the plains. The wolf glanced at the sign. A faded arrow with sketchy writing reading " Wild Canyon, 12 miles" pointed to the trail that cut through the plains. Sino shook his head. He didn't want to go that way. The other two arrows pointed towards the peaks. One read "Sky Rail, 1 mile", and the other said "Pumpkin Hill, 5 miles." A small smile forced its way onto Sino's face. This was as easy as he had first thought. The wolf knew better than to go to Pumpkin Hill. It was crawling with ghosts. His only option was Sky Rail.

He left the sign and started down the trail toward Sky Rail. Other than a couple brief statements he had heard over Eliah's intercom, Sino had heard nothing about this place. All he knew was that it was a location on Eliah's boss's target list. Something about a great place to put a base… Sino shrugged it off. He had only heard a piece of the conversation. Maybe if he saw anyone living there he'd warn them. He'd hate to see more innocent lives destroyed. There had been enough destruction already.

**

* * *

**

Ciel was bored. Very bored. The hedgehog stared at the knife in his hands. It was large knife, the kind used for chopping vegetables (and fingers if you're not careful). He shifted it in his hand. Firelight glinted off of the sliver blade. Ciel grinned. It was shiny… He liked shiny things. They made him happy. Now all he needed was a spy movie and his life would be complete… Ciel's face suddenly went blank and he set down the knife.

"Oh, crap." He whispered to himself. This was not good. Not here. Not now. He gulped and crossed his legs. It was that dreaded feeling. He had to pee. Ciel felt a chill run up his spine. Not from the cold, but from dread. It was dark, he was alone, and now he had to pee. Under any other circumstance, this would be no big deal. But he was in a scary dark forest full of weird noises. There was no way that Ciel would be going in that forest alone. The hedgehog stubbornly crossed his legs tighter. He could hold it. He would wait until they found a city with plumbing. Indoor plumbing.

A bush rustled behind Ciel. The yellow and black hedgehog whirled around and saw absolutely nothing. _I'm just being paranoid. _Ciel reasoned with himself. _It's all in my head. _

A bush rustled on the other side of camp. Ciel instinctively grabbed the knife. _You're surrounded! _A voice inside his head whispered. The hedgehog tightened his grip on the knife. If was about to be attacked, he was going to defend himself. After all, he was too young to die! He still had places to go and things to see. Not to mention he had to go to the bathroom. The bush behind him rustled again. Ciel whipped head around, and this time he saw something. And it was _moving._

Ciel jumped to his feet and waited. Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the foliage catching him off guard. Ciel shrieked with surprise and fear. Natalie, who had just stepped out of the bushes, shouted in surprise. Cream, woken up by the commotion, yelled and scrambled to the other side of the camp. She bumped into Bean, who had just emerged from the bushes. The duck hollered as Cream crashed into him. He stumbled backwards and stepped on Amy's foot. The pink hedgehog shouted. Ciel shrieked again as Bark walked into the camp.

"KNOCK IT OFF!" The polar bear yelled irritably.

Ciel coughed quietly. "Sorry…" He murmured as glanced at everybody who had spontaneously appeared at camp.

Natalie blinked and wriggled her finger in her ear. "I think you just ruptured my eardrum." She muttered. "Has anyone ever told you that you scream like a girl?" The black cat asked.

"Actually Gemini told me that once…" Ciel trailed off as he looked slowly set the knife down on the ground. "Nevermind…"

**

* * *

**

Sino gritted his teeth as he pulled himself onto a rocky ledge. He had reached the first of the peaks and was now faced with the task of climbing it. When he looked up, it seemed to go on forever until it faded into sky. It was probably a good four hundred feet high. This would be a long and tedious climb. The rust colored wolf climbed onto the next ledge. It was wide and broad. Sino decided to pause here for a while. It was dark, and as he got higher up on the first peak he would have even poorer visibility.

The wolf unstrung his pack from his shoulders and emptied the contents onto the ledge. Sino grabbed a piece of rope and gnawed off a length of it. He snatched the flashlight and placed it on top of his head, in between his ears. Sino wrapped the rope around his head and tied the loose ends beneath his chin, being careful not tie them to tight as to choke himself. The wolf clicked on the flashlight. The ledge and the side of the peak were illuminated in a pale yellow light. Sino nodded, pleased with himself. He coiled the rest of the rope around his shoulder and gazed up at the peak. It would be a long climb…

Sino grabbed a chunk of bread and his pocket knife. He crammed the bread into his mouth, stashed the knife in his pocket, and stuffed the rest of his items back into his bag. The wolf swung the pack back onto his shoulders. He stared at the peak once more. Sino sighed and massaged his forehead. Climbing a steep, rocky peak in the dark was the last thing he wanted to do. But if it meant freeing him and his sister, Sino was willing to do it. He uncoiled part of the rope. Sino gazed up at the formidable peak, looking for a jutting rock or ledge. He spotted one an easy fifteen feet above his head. The wolf threw the loose end of the rope up the side of the rock wall. For a brief moment, it hung in midair, then drifted back down to earth. He tried again. It fell miserably short.

Frustrated, Sino knelt down and looked for a rock. He found one and tied it to the frayed end of the rope. The wolf hurled it back up the wall. Rock clattered against rock, and the rope looped over the jutting ledge Sino had spotted. Weighted down by the stone, the rope landed near Sino's feet. He grinned and untied the stone. The rust-furred wolf fastened the rope and his waist. He tugged on the entwined strands of ropes. They held fast. With his heart pounding inside his chest, Sino placed his left foot against the sheer rock wall. Cautiously, he placed his right foot besides it. The rope held fast. Sino inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and took a step up the wall, simultaneously pulling himself upwards with the rope. Two steps. Then five. So far so good. Ten steps up, only five or so to go. When he reached the ledge, he gripped the edge with his left hand and freed the rope with his right hand. He retied the rock to the end the rope and threw it up the side of the wall. It caught on a rock. Sino tested it. It held. With another sigh, he proceeded upward.

**

* * *

**

At this point, tired was an understatement. Bean was exhausted. The duck had spent what seemed like an eternity trudging through a marsh with Amy, and when they had finally found their way out, they had been greeted by a screaming hedgehog. Now, after everything had been settled, he was stumbling blindly through the forest, following Bark, Natalie, and some small furry thing that had claimed to be from some nearby city. Bean yawned. He sure was tired. Bark and Amy, the self-appointed leaders of the misfit band, had been anxious to find this city and had ordered Bean and Ciel to pack all of the supplies. The food, much to Ciel and Bean's horror, and been tossed. So now, the duck was forced to walk with an empty stomach and a full backpack on his back. Behind him, Ciel had also been weighted down with a loaded pack, much to his displeasure.

"I need to use the bathroom…" The yellow and black hedgehog muttered for the umpteenth time that night.

"I know Ciel." Bean said, stifling a yawn. "As soon as we get to the city, you'll find one." He reassured. Bean groaned inwardly. The normally optimistic duck felt his normal cheery mood vanishing. He was too miserable to be happy. He was tired, his legs ached, he was covered in foul smelling mud, he was hungry, and his back hurt from the backpack bouncing against it. He really didn't want to listen to Ciel's whining right now.

"Bark…" The duck called out to his old friend, "Where are we going?"

From his spot between Amy and Cream, the polar bear shrugged. "I don't know. Some city I guess…"

"It shouldn't be too much further, Bean." Amy encouraged from the front of the party. The pink hedgehog leaned forward and spoke to the fuzzy thing they were following. Bean couldn't hear what she was saying.

"She says it should be coming up soon." Amy said. Bean nodded, assuming the 'she' was referring to whatever they were following. All he heard was something about Natalie startling it when she was looking around…

Bean yawned and looked behind him. Ciel was stumbling along behind him, dragging his feet in the ground. Behind the hedgehog was Natalie. The black cat was alert and wide awake, a gun held in her hand. She appeared to be the only one who wasn't on the verge of exhaustion. Bean redirected his gaze back to the path in front of him. He yawned again and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"Ciel, what time is it?" He asked the hedgehog.

"Three-fifty." Came Ciel's sleepy reply.

Bean yawned again. Only three-fifty. That meant the sun wouldn't begin to rise for nearly another two hours. It was hard to believe it hadn't even been twenty-four hours since all this had began. In the space of one day they had crossed a desert, been captured by angry cats, escaped, met up with old friends, dealt with Ciel, Cream, and Natalie following them from Dry Lagoon, built a camp, trudged through a swamp, and stumbled through a forest. At this point, all Bean wanted to do was to sleep. He was positive everyone else wanted the same thing. The day had been trying for all of them, and now a new one was sneaking up on them. When they got to this city, they would have to stop and find a place to stay. If it was a civilized place, perhaps they could find a hotel. Oh, how the thought of a hotel appealed to Bean. A nice, comfortable bed with soft, downy pillows. Maybe if they were lucky there would be a buffet nearby…

Bean was abruptly yanked from his fantasy world by a large metal sign. The duck had ungracefully walked right into it, caught up his daydreams.

"Ouch…" He muttered and rubbed at his beak. He was about to say something else when the writing on the sign caught his eye. The words, "Welcome to Central City, population 50,000." was stamped out in uniform white paint.

"WE MADE IT!" Bean shouted as he dashed ahead to the front of the group. "WE MADE IT, WE MADE IT, WE-" The duck paused when he noticed that Bark and Amy were just standing there, staring up at the vast jungle of gray skyscrapers and dingy buildings. Bean noticed that their guide had vanished.

"What's going on? What's the matter?" Ciel asked as he and Natalie neared the halted group.

"Something seems… off." Bark muttered as he scrutinized every square inch of the city.

"What do you mean?" Bean asked, even though he could feel it too.

"I used to live here when I was younger. It just doesn't seem as… friendly." The polar bear said. He shook his head, dismissing the thought. He motioned for Amy and the others to continue. Bark let everyone pass him. As Bean went to pass, the polar bear dropped into step with him.

"Something weird is going on, Bean." He whispered as he walked alongside his companion. "I didn't want to say anything to worry the others, but keep your eyes open and stay alert. Don't let _anyone _out of your sight."

Bean nodded dumbly, and Bark briskly passed him to catch up with Amy at the front of the group. What did Bark mean by "something weird"? Everything seemed normal to Bean. But even so, he would have to trust bark's instincts. Even though they hadn't had contact in years, the duck would still trust the polar bear with his life.

**

* * *

**

**I know I made Ciel seem a little pathetic, but I needed the events in this chapter to happen so I can move the plot ahead next chapter. Please review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 **

**Trouble Brewing **

It was beautiful. The sunrise, that was. The sky was painted with a myriad of pink, yellow, orange, and red streaks. In the distance, an eagle called out. The sound, sharp and clear, echoed throughout the rocky valley. But all this natural beauty was lost upon Sino. The rust-furred wolf was exhausted. He was nearly done scaling the sheer rock wall. There were just a few more feet left to climb and he would be at the top. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath. Every muscle in his body ached from the effort of climbing. The constant rubbing of rock against his hands had worn through his gloves and chapped his palms. His legs were covered in scraps and bruises from his several near-falls, as were his arms. Sweat trickled down his back. Sino shifted uncomfortably and pulled himself up higher. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest as he slowly pulled himself up onto the very top of the peak.

Sino rolled over onto his back. He freed his backpack from his back and tore out the canteen. It was still half full. The wolf opened it and greedily sucked down the remaining liquid. The few precious drops left he splashed onto his face. He lay there, prone to the sky above him, for several minutes, catching his breath. Finally, he sat up, rather stiffly, and surveyed the surrounded area. Sino let out a strangled sob when he caught sight of what laid ahead of him. A set of twin metal rails, both rusted with age, wound from the ledge to another rocky peak. The wolf glanced down below him. All he could see was cloudy fog. If he fell, he would be dead the moment his body collided with the ground.

Shaking uncontrollably, he gripped his bag loosely in one hand and stood up. His legs wobbled unsteady underneath him, and for a second Sino thought he would collapse. The wolf walked over to the railing and stared at them. He needed a way to cross them. Grinding across them was out of the question; he didn't have the appropriate shoes, and he was too tired. He couldn't walk across them as they were too far apart. Baffled and frustrated, Sino rubbed at his forehead. The best plan he could think of was risky… at best.

But it would have to do.

Sino knelt down on his knees and lengthened the straps on his backpack. He would have preferred to use the ropes from earlier, but he had been forced to discard them halfway up his climb. Sino balanced his bag on the right-hand rail. With the straps gripped tightly in his hands, he slid under the rail. The backpack held. Sino was hanging in thin air. The only thing separating him from certain death was a bag. The wolf kicked off the wall and began to slide down the rail.

Something was wrong. He should be going faster than this. Sino looked up at the rail. He slowly came to a dead stop. "NO!" He shouted. The wolf looked down. He was dangling over a valley so far down he couldn't even see it. "No! No! No!"

Sino rocked his body back and forth, hoping his weight would force the bag into motion again. It slid a few inches then stopped again. The rails were too rusty. Ten years ago, when they were shiny and new, he could have slid down them easily. But not now. He continued to rock back and forth to no avail. Sino looked up at the bag. The rubbing had worn away at the already thin strap fabric. The wolf cringed. It was held together by a few threads…. Rapidly breaking threads. The bag couldn't support his weight.

"No!" Sino shouted as he watched the last thread snap. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion. He heard the bag's strap breaking, and he saw the bag fall off the rail. His body seemed to hang in space for a moment, before plummeting downwards into nothingness.

**

* * *

**

Lead by Bark, the six travelers walked down the sidewalk of Central City's Main Street, glancing around at the giant skyscrapers and towering buildings. The streets were abnormally quiet. Bark had remembered them being constantly busy and bustling with people and Mobians, even in the early hours of the morning. But the sidewalks were nearly deserted. The only signs of life were two blond-haired ladies in suits buying a cup of coffee from an outdoor café and a brown hedgehog jogging. Bark exhaled uneasily and nervously glanced around the street. Unnerved by his friend's uneasiness, Bean looked over at Bark.

"We should find a place to stay." Amy said from the back of the party. "We can't go on much longer…"

Cream and Ciel quickly agreed with Amy. Natalie and Bean remained silent, their eyes glued to Bark. The polar bear looked around the street again and then back at the group. "I think we should split into groups."

The others looked at him, slightly confused. "Why?" Amy asked. "We should stick together…"

"No." Bark interrupted the pink hedgehog mid-sentence. "We should break into to groups." He glanced around the group. Hearing no more objections, he continued,

"Amy…" The pink hedgehog sighed and stared at Bark. "Go with Ciel and Cream. Get something to eat, get some rest, whatever."

"Hey! We're not little kids anymore we don't need to have a babysitter!" Ciel objected, offended by Bark's order.

"Ciel... just leave it." Cream said gently. She grabbed the hedgehog's arm and pulled him away. "Let's go with Amy and get something to eat. I'm hungry." Ciel allowed the rabbit to lead him down the sidewalk with Amy.

"What about us?" Bean asked Bark. "What are we going to do?"

"Snoop." Bark answered, "Something weird is going on here." He explained. "I didn't want to say anything to freak out Cream and Ciel, but there is something wrong here."

"How do you know?" Natalie asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"I lived here when I was younger," Bark answered, not even bothering to come up with some dry comment.

"Oh. Alright." Natalie said softly, just as surprised as Bean was at the lack of sarcasm in Bark's comment.

The trio walked down the street, discussing their plan of action. Bark explained the odd lack of activity, boarded up buildings, and the suspicious feeling in his gut. Flanked by bean on one side and Natalie on the other, Bark turned the corner. Then another. Then they made a left. A right. Another right. They walked down an empty street and turned onto a narrow lane. The three travelers found themselves in a rather sketchy part of town. The sidewalk was cracked, crumbling, and overgrown with weeds. Dingy brick walls, boasting the graffiti of several neighborhood gangs, loomed to the left. To the right, a pot-holed road lead straight ahead into a run-down, old neighborhood.

"Where are we going?" Bean asked, his eyes darting nervously around the road. He knew they blended in quite well. Their dirty, tattered clothes would lessen any suspicion anyone had of them. After all, who would worry about a bunch of vagabonds wandering the city?

"My old house…" Bark murmured, a dream-like quality to his voice. "The neighborhood used to be a lot nicer. I want to see if any of my family is left here. They might know what happened to this city."

Bean and Natalie exchanged curious glances. In the years Bean had known Bark, the duck had never once heard him mention his family. He had suspicions that Bark was estranged from his kin, but he had never dared to ask. It must seem a little surreal to Bark, walking down his old street to see someone he hadn't seen in over ten years. The duck's heart went out to his friend. Sure, he didn't know a lot about his own family, but there wasn't much to know. But Bark had grown up with them, and yet he had estranged himself.

"Are you okay, Bark?" Bean asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine." The duck had expected hostility in the polar bear's voice, but his tone was flat and unemotional. Typical Bark.

Bean sighed to himself and looked over at Natalie. The black cat shrugged and shook her head. The whole situation was kind of awkward for her. Two days ago, she was a petty thief struggling to survive in some hellish desert city, and now she was journeying with two near strangers, one which had threatened her life, into a dangerous city. _What the hell was I thinking when I decided to follow them?_ She asked herself.

Up ahead, Bark turned onto a narrow walkway, snapping everyone out of their subconscious thoughts. "This is it. This is my old house…" He trailed off. The polar bear slowly walked up the walkway. Each step seemed to zap more and more of his strength. After what seemed like an eternity, Bark reached the rusty screen door. With Bean and Natalie right behind him, he hesitantly punched the doorbell. He heard it chime on the other side of the door.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" A husky female voice yelled from inside the house. Bark took a deep breath and exhaled as the lock on the door clicked open.

A yellow-furred female polar bear in her mid-twenties stepped out onto the porch. She was wearing a pair of old jeans, flip-flops, and a halter top. Her hair was tied back into a grungy ponytail. She stood there for a moment, sizing Bark and the others up. "Who the hell are you?" She said at last, not bothering to disguise her displeasure.

"Leaf? It's me Bark…" He said to the female polar bear.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought Mom kicked you ages ago."

"I know, I know." Bark said quickly. "I was in the area and…"

"Well get out of the area." Petal interrupted. "This city's gone to hell anyways."

"What happened here?" He asked before his sister could interrupt him again.

She grunted and rolled her eyes again. "I don't know… Some whacks working for this fat guy came storming in here with an army of robots at their heels two years ago. They took over the GUN base and basically destroyed the town. Happy? Now get the hell off my property." Petal turned her back on her brother and stormed back into the house, slamming the screen door behind her.

"Well… that was pleasant." Natalie observed dryly.

His face blank, Bark walked past her and down the pathway of what was once his home. He dragged himself off the property. Without saying a word, Bark started off down the sidewalk. "Hey!" Natalie called as she and Bean hurried after him.

The black cat placed a sympathetic hand on Bark's shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked. Bark angrily swatted her hand away.

"Just leave me alone, both of you."

**

* * *

**

Amy was not happy, not happy at all. Over the years she had grown more confident and willful, the result of being placed in a sudden position of leadership. She liked to know what was going on, and that information was being withheld from her. Something was up. There was something abnormal going on in the city, and Bark wasn't telling her. They had made an unwritten agreement that as head of traveling party, they would keep each other informed about what was going on. Bark had broken that agreement and gone behind her back with Bean and Natalie. Amy frowned. She was left taking care of two creatures that shouldn't even be here in the first place while the others got to go off adventuring.

"Hey, Amy?" Cream asked, tentatively. The pink hedgehog snapped out of her contemplations and looked over at the rabbit. "Where are we going?" She asked innocently.

Amy sighed and glanced around the almost empty street. There were some shabby-looking buildings across the street. Most of them were sporting "Closed" signs in their grubby windows, but one had a green neon sign reading "Diner: Open 24 hours" posted in the window.

"Anybody hungry?" Amy asked. Cream and Ciel eagerly nodded. The two hedgehogs and the rabbit quickly crossed the street, double checking both ways for cars.

The door's bells tinkled together as Amy, Cream, and Ciel entered the diner. The inside was nearly as shabby as the outside. The walls were covered in tacky flowered wallpaper, and the air reeked of cigarette smoke. A scruffy billy-goat leaned against the cashier counter with his eyes half-closed. He was dressed in a rumpled suit. The counter was scattered with a layer of receipt papers, garbage, old coffee cops, and a small silver service bell. Amy lightly tapped on the bell. The goat sat up with a startled grunt, muttering curses under breath. "How many?" He grumbled as he pulled himself together.

"Three." Amy answered. The billy-goat yawned and grabbed three menus. Still grumbling, he showed them to a table by the window.

"Your server will be with you momentarily." He muttered before tossing the menus on the table and ambling back to the cashier counter.

"Friendly city." Cream observed in an uncharacteristically sarcastic tone. Ciel nodded his agreement. Cream picked a menu and unfolded it. "Let's hope the food is good." She said.

Amy yawned and picked up a menu. She wasn't so much as hungry as she was tired. Personally, she would have picked a nap over a meal, but Ciel and Cream were hungry. Besides, this was no time to sleep. If something really was wrong, she should probably stay awake and alert. The pink hedgehog frowned and looked over the menu. The breakfast selection appeared to be mainly stacked pancake served with sausage or bacon, neither of which Amy felt like eating on a journey like this. She wasn't sure she was up for eating anyways. The constant stress, anxiety, and prevailing urgency of the past twenty-four hours had left her feeling slightly nauseous.

"May I take your order?" An attractive young hedgehog asked. She was holding a notepad and pen.

Amy blinked several times to clear her thoughts. "I'd like some water, please." She said.

"Anything else?" The young waitress asked with a smile.

"No thank you."

"I'll take the pancake breakfast." Ciel said, pointing to something in the menu.

The waitress smiled again and scrawled down his order on her pad. "And for you?" She asked Cream.

"I'm sharing with him." The rabbit said, gesturing towards Ciel.

"Alrighty then." The waitress said, tucking her pen behind one ear. "Anything else?" She asked earnestly, looking from Ciel to Cream to Amy and back.

"Yeah," Ciel said, "Where's the bathroom?"

The waitress gave him a tiny smile. "I'm sorry, sir. We don't have any public bathrooms." She pointed to what looked like an abandoned building across the street. "There should be some over there though."

"Oh… okay. Thank you." Ciel muttered.

The hedgehog waitress smiled. "If you need anything at all just ask." And with that she strolled off to the other end of the restaurant to take the order of a grungy bear wearing a stained plaid shirt, dirty jeans, and scuffed boots.

"I really need to go to the bathroom, Amy." Ciel said. The yellow and black hedgehog rose out of his chair. "I'm gonna go to that building over there. I'll be back."

Amy nodded and picked up a newspaper lying on the chair next to her. "Alright. Be careful. Gemini would freak out if you got killed."

Ciel nodded briskly and hurried out of the diner. Once he was outside, the hedgehog dashed across the street without bothering to look for cars. Fortunately the street was empty and he crossed safely. He saw the building the waitress had pointed to. It wasn't very hard to find. After all, it was right in front of him. Ciel went up to the front of the building. The windows were boarded up and so was the front door. "GO AWAY" was sprayed across the plywood covering in bright orange paint. The hedgehog frowned, and considered going back to the diner, which any normal functioning being would do. But not Ciel. He tugged on the door handle. It didn't open. He pulled harder, but the door was unyielding.

_It must be locked. _Ciel thought to himself with a slight scowl on his face. _I'll try the back door! _

The energetic hedgehog dashed to the back of the building, clambering through bushes and tall weeds. Like in the front, the back windows and the door window were all covered with plywood. Ciel gave the door handle a tug. It opened a small creak. The hedgehog grinned in victory and peeked inside. The back room he was in was dark, but he could a strip of light underneath the closed door.

Throwing caution to the wind, Ciel stepped into the dark room, shutting the door behind him. He quietly crept towards the shut door. He groped around in darkness for the handle. He found it, turned it, and opened the door. Light from a brightly lit hallway overwhelmed. Ciel squinted as his eyes adjusted to the intense light. As his eyes adjusted, he could make out several doors to his left. Hoping that one of them may be a bathroom, Ciel ambled towards them.

He tried the first door. It was locked. Ciel moved onto the second door. It was also locked. As were the third and fourth doors. He decided to have a go at the fifth door. It was unlocked. Ciel stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind him. The room he was standing in definitely wasn't a bathroom. It looked more like a meeting room. An oak table, which vast number of trees had given their lives to make, was the main piece of furniture in the room. It was positioned in the center of the room. A dozen or so chairs surrounded it, and at the opposite end of where Ciel was standing, was a whiteboard. Curiosity overtook Ciel. He circled around the table and chairs to get a better look at the board. Some kind of map had been scribbled on the surface with a black marker. Random cities and locations had been circled in blue.

Ciel looked at the circled areas. There were mostly cities with a few territories here and there. He noticed that Central City had been circled. So had Westopolis, Station Square, Mystic Ruins, Prison Island, and other places Ciel had never heard of. A sudden wave of fear washed over him, and he checked the map again. _Good. Dry Lagoon isn't circled. _He had no idea what the circles were for, but he felt relieved anyways.

He still needed to find a bathroom, so he exited the room and headed back down the hall. At the very end of the hall was a sixth door. Not seeing any other way to go, Ciel hurried towards it. It was unlocked and he slipped inside. The room was enormous, but dimly lit. Walls of bleeping monitors and computer screens surrounded him. Bright flashing seemed to glare at him from every direction. Tables covered with tanks filled with various colored liquids, test tubes, vials of chemicals, and microscopes covered the center of the massive chamber. Mobians decked in white lab coats were bustling back and forth, mixing solutions, checking on experiments, and reporting to an official looking white canine wearing a sleek, body-hugging black dress. Ciel quickly backed out of the room, thankful he hadn't been noticed. He needed to get out of here and tell Amy what he found…


	18. Chapter 18

**Pshaw! Thank you everybody reading. CotS now has over one thousand hits! And sorry about the lack of updating. I do have a life you know. Not really but still.

* * *

**

**Chapter 18**

**The Plot Thickens**

Sino didn't remember the actual moment of impact. The last thing he remembered was the bag breaking and his body falling into space. Now, he was lying prone on a hard rocky plateau. He felt as if he had been run over by a train… several times. He was conscious, barely but still. His breath was short and ragged, and each breath pained his chest. There was a dull ache in his side; Sino suspected that something there had been broken. His left arm hurt. Intense pain shot up the appendage as he tried to move it. The wolf winced. His shoulders throbbed, too. One of them was probably dislocated. Blood was dripping from the gashes across his face, back, and torso where he had been struck by some rocks on his way down. Sino let out a strangled sob and tried to sit up. His efforts were wasted. He was too weak and injured to sit up. Hot tears of anger spilled down his face as he contemplated his situation. He was going to here. He was going to die in some strange place without getting to save his sister. Inia was probably going to die now because he failed. Sino chocked out another sob. Then another. Soon, he was lying crumpled on the plateau, sobbing into the brown rock beneath him.

Suddenly, there was another sound other than his smothered cries. A harsh static was coming from somewhere near Sino's head. Still sobbing, the wolf turned his head and strained to find the source of the static. It was coming from his wristband. It had been torn from his wrist in the fall, but it was still mostly intact. He reached out to grab it with non-injured arm. His fingers clasped around the cool metal band and he pulled it closer to him.

"Hello? Hello?" He rasped into the face of the wristband.

He was answered only by more static.

"Hello?" Sino repeated.

No one answered but the static. Sino let out a cry of anguish and smashed his metal wristband into the ground. For a brief moment, he had hoped that there would be someone on the other end of his wristband that could help him. Another bout of static dashed what was left of his hopes. Suddenly, he heard a garbled voice on the other end.

"Sino, what the hell happened?!"

The rust-furred wolf snatched up the band again. "Eliah?" He asked, his voice desperate.

"What?!" The purple coyote snapped form the other end. "What the hell happened?" She repeated.

"I fell…" Sino chocked out, tears stinging the brims of his eyes. Eliah said nothing. Sino continued, "Bag snapped… I was trying to cross rails… Fell from top of Sky Rail. Eliah, please help me!" The wolf sobbed.

He could hear only Eliah's steady breathing on the other end. "How bad are you hurt?" She asked irritably.

"I can't sit up… I think I broke a couple of bones…" Sino rasped.

"You're screwed," came Eliah's nonchalant reply. "The vultures will probably show up soon to watch you die. You've probably got about two or three hours to live."

Sino scanned the skies for any signs of vultures. He didn't see any. "What about Inia?"

Eliah snorted, "I should've sent her to do your job. She probably would have been more competent. By the way Sino, the vultures always go for the eyeballs first."

The transmitter on Sino's wristband clicked off, leaving the wolf in silence. "NO!" He shouted. "NO! NO! NO!" Hot tears poured down his face. "Eliah!" The wolf gasped in between sobs. "Eliah, please help me!" He cried. No answer came from the wristband.

Sobbing piteously, Sino tried to curl into the fetal position, but the pain was too great. He was sort of scrunched up into a little ball onto with the side of his face pressing into the warm rock. It was still early morning, but as the time passed, the sun would get hotter and hotter… Sino would be like a fried vegetable by afternoon. Another tear slid down his cheek. He felt so bad… He was letting his sister down… Now they would both die away from each other.

* * *

"Amy!" Ciel burst through the dirty glass diner door, hollering and waving his arms. The few beings in the dingy restaurant glanced up from their newspaper and coffee only slightly disturbed by the crazed hedgehog in their midst. After all, it was Central City. They saw weirder things walking down the streets everyday.

"Amy! Amy!" Ciel hollered as he bustled across the diner towards the window booth where the pink hedgehog was seated with Cream.

The pink hedgehog sighed and rolled her eyes as she got up from the table. She met Ciel halfway down the aisle. "What the hell is going on, Ciel?" She demanded, taking the hedgehog by the shoulder and directing him in the general direction of the table.

"There's… there's…" The hedgehog jabbered uselessly as he flapped his arms around. "There's… a _lab _in that building!" He gasped at last. "And a map… a map with… with… locations marked off. And… and…" Ciel paused to take a ragged breath. "There was a _lab._" He repeated. Amy and Cream exchanged worried and curious glances. The hedgehog continued. "There was a white fox-lady and a bunch of workers and tanks filled with weird liquids and these vials with chemicals in them. Amy, they're _planning_ something!" Ciel finished and stood they're trying to catch his breath. Amy and Cream just stared.

"Ciel…" Amy began hesitantly, "Are you sure you didn't imagine it? It's been over a day since you've gotten any sleep. You're tired, hungry, disoriented… Are you sure it wasn't all in your head?" The pink hedgehog asked.

"No!" Ciel yelled, knocking Amy's hand off his shoulder. "I know what I saw!"

Cream looked up at Amy. "Maybe he's right, Amy. We should go look."

"Cream… there's _nothing _there. They're _can't _be. People would know if there was a lab in the middle of the city."

"It's in an abandoned building!" Cream argued. The rabbit stood up to stand besides Ciel. "No one would know it was there. Please, can't we look? What if Ciel's right?" She pleaded.

"I am right! I'm not hallucinating!" Ciel defend. He was ignored.

Amy took a deep breath and exhaled. She looked around the restaurant as if searching for a signal of what to do. He gaze slowly drifted back to Ciel and Cream. "Well?" Cream said.

"Alright." Amy said at last. "We'll take a look."

Cream and Ciel exchanged smiles.

"What do we do once I show you the lab?" Ciel asked Amy.

"If it proves to be a lab, not a sleep-deprived figment of Ciel's imagination, we'll find Bark and the others and check it out." The pink hedgehog answered. She sighed again. "Let's go…"

Practically dancing with glee, anticipation, and anxiety, Ciel followed Amy and Cream through the dirty glass front doors. They quickly crossed the deserted street and headed over to the building. Ciel took his position at the front of the group. "The front door was locked so I went around the back…" He said, relaying exactly what he had done earlier. The hedgehog lead Cream and Amy through the bushes and weeds he had heedlessly dashed through on his way back. "And here's how I got in." Ciel said, gesturing to the back door.

Amy cautiously walked up to the door and tugged on the handle. The door creaked open. "It works, all right." She held the door open as Ciel and Cream ducked into the darkness. She followed.

"Which way now?" Amy asked Ciel. The black and yellow hedgehog pointed to the strip of light. The hedgehogs and the rabbit stumbled around in the darkness towards the door. Ciel opened it, and they found themselves standing in an over-lit hallway. Ciel was forced to squint his eyes once more to study the hallway. He saw the rows of doors lining the hall and tried to remember which one he had gone through. Ciel remembered the first four doors being locked and that the fifth door led to the meeting room with the map. But that room was irrelevant. He would just show Amy the laboratory he had seen.

"What door?" The pink hedgehog asked Ciel.

The black and yellow hedgehog pointed to the very last door in the hallway. "The sixth one… I think. Yeah, that one had the lab in it."

Amy gave Cream brief nod, signaling for them to follow Ciel to the end of the hallway. The three of them crept down the bright hall in silence, none of them wanting to speak again dare they be heard. Ciel paused in front of the door, his hand hovering a few centimeters above the doorknob.

"Well?" Amy hissed softly into his head. "Open it."

"But we'll be seen." Ciel whispered back, stating the obvious fact that had been overlooked.

"Then just open it partway. Hurry up, Ciel. This place gives me the creeps…"

Ciel slowly turned the doorknob and cracked the door. Through the crack, he could hear the rants of the Mobians as they bustled back and forth from table to table and from computer to computer conducting various experiments and typing stuff into the computers. He could a loud, feminine voice shouting out instructions to them as they worked. Amy and Cream could hear too. They squeezed past Ciel so they could see through the cracked door. Sure enough, it looked just as Ciel had described it to them.

"They are definitely up to something." Amy observed once Ciel had shut the door. Cream nodded in agreement. "We really should go get Bark and the others." Amy continued. "They would probably be more useful in a situation like this than we would."

* * *

"Where is the GUN base, anyways?" Bean asked Bark. The dynamic duo and Natalie had long since gotten off the beat-down side streets of Central City and were back on the main street. It was getting later in the morning, and more places were starting to open for the day, which meant more people in the streets. Not that it was anywhere near crowded. The streets were still on the borderline of deserted.

Bark looked around for a street sign. They were on the corner of Main and Fifty-Second Street. The polar bear shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's near one of these number streets. Just look for abandoned building."

Natalie looked at the buildings that surrounded them and smirked. "Yeah, that narrows it down to half the buildings in Central City." She commented dryly.

"Quit being a smart-ass." Bark retorted. "We can just ask someone were it is."

"Who do you want to ask, your sister? After all that went over so well." Natalie muttered. "Or do you want to ask the bum that we passed two blocks ago? Or maybe the creepy guy at the coffee shop who kept staring at my ass? Or maybe…"

"I get it…" Bark grumbled. Exasperated, he glanced around the streets. "Look… It can't be that hard to find…"

"What? The GUN base?" Bean asked.

"…Yes, Bean. The GUN base."

"Oh I know here that is. Why didn't you just say something?" Bean asked.

Bark and Natalie exchanged puzzled glances.

"Bean… you _just _asked me where it was." Bark reminded the green duck.

"Sorry, I thought you were talking about the _other _GUN base." Bean apologized.

"Bean, there's only one GUN base in… Nevermind." Bark muttered. It was useless. Explaining things to Bean was like trying to lick your elbow. It was pretty much impossible and pointless.

"It's down by Fifty-Ninth Street." Bean said, hitching his thumb in the direction of the mentioned street.

* * *

"Hey, what's in the other rooms?" Cream asked Ciel as they walked down the hallway. They were six doors in the hallway. Ciel had only mentioned the laboratory and the map room, which they had yet to see.

"I don't know." Ciel said. "The fifth door goes to the room with the map in it. The other ones were all locked."

"Let's see the map room." Amy said to Ciel. The black and yellow hedgehog shrugged and opened the fifth door. The room looked exactly as it had when Ciel had been in it a few minutes earlier. The big oak table was in the middle of the room, surrounded by chairs. The map was at the opposite end of the table, staring back at them.

Amy, followed by Cream and Ciel, edged around the table and chairs to get a better look at the make. Sure enough, several cities and major places had been circled. "Hm…" Amy said as she studied the map. "Prison Island… Didn't GUN seize that place years ago?" She asked no one in particular. "Westopolis is where the head of GUN is located. There was a unit in Station Square, but it was abandoned years ago. Central City _had_ a GUN unit, too."

"Do you think GUN is up to something?" Cream asked the question that was on everybody's mind.

"I doubt it." Amy shook her head. "I don't think GUN would cross over to the other side. It's more likely that's it someone with a vast knowledge of their bases and locations. Someone who had been exposed to GUN a lot. Maybe someone with a grudge against GUN…"

"Like Shadow?" Cream observed darkly.

"Yes, like Shadow."

"Shadow's behind this?" Ciel questioned, a little surprised. Sure, Shadow wasn't exactly a goody-goody, but this plan was starting to seem a little dark… even for Shadow. After how could someone who had saved Earth from danger, like the BioLizard and Black Doom, be _that_ bad?

"Maybe. Probably." Amy said with a shrug. "If he is, he's probably getting help from someone else with more power. Maybe he's in cohorts with Eggman. If that's the case, it's only a matter of time before he betrays Eggman and goes at whatever it is he's going to do solo. He probably has an accomplice or two."

"I think we should check those other rooms." Ciel stated. Amy and Cream nodded in agreement. The trio exited the room as quietly as they had entered.

"Amy, the other doors are all locked." Ciel reminded the pink hedgehog. She handed him something small and silver. "A paper clip?"

"Unbend it and pick the lock." Amy explained.

"Oh." Ciel twisted the wire clip until it was just one long wire and stuck it into the keyhole. He wriggled it around for what seemed like forever. Finally, they heard the rewarding _click _of a cheap lock coming unlocked. Into the second room they went. It was pretty empty. Three walls were entirely bare and the fourth wall was occupied by a giant computer screen and corresponding panel.

"Hey… I bet this has some information on it." Amy said. She sat down in the leather swivel chair that someone had placed in front of the computer. She clicked a random button and the screen came to life. It showed a menu of options. Amy read off each of out loud. "Research, Communications, Facilities, and Security. Let's go with Security." She reached up and touched the 'Security' option with her finger. The screen complied and a list of options was displayed.

"Laboratory, Entrance, Meeting Room, Armory, Barracks, Lockdown." Amy frowned and tapped the back button. None of those were what she wanted.

She tried the 'Communications' option. This time, instead of an options menu, Amy got a screen with six separate labels. "Main Unit, W. Unit, S.S. Unit, P.I. Unit, M.R. Unit, Mobile Unit. Weird." She clicked on Mobile Unit. Several little icons with names next to them came up. One was of a purple coyote. The words 'Eliakashio Sinclaire, Mobile Unit Head -Contact' were next to the image. The others depicted younger Mobians. All it said besides the picture was their name. There was no contact button. Amy clicked on Main Unit. Again three icons appeared. One for Shadow, one for Rouge, and another one for the purple coyote. Amy clicked on the other tabs. She saw a few more names that she recognized.

"I knew it." Amy said to Ciel and Cream. "Shadow is behind this, and he has help from Rouge, Jet, Wave, Nack, and Omega. This is bad…"

"No kidding." Ciel muttered.

* * *

**Yep… there it is. Chapter 18. I think…** **Anyways, I don't think I'll be updating for a while since I have this little **_**idea **_**floating around in my head…**


	19. Chapter 19

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Sector 9**

"On the count of three. One… two… three!"

The heavy wood door of the abandoned GUN warehouse all but shattered beneath the powerful blow of the metal beam Bark, Bean, and Natalie were using as a bettering ram. The polar bear casually tossed it aside as he led the others into the darkness of the base's lobby. It was a dark, dreary room untouched by the light of day for years. A thick layer of dust had settled on the floor and all the flat surfaces of the room. It was undisturbed; no one had walked on these floors in years.

The room was completely quiet as Bark, Bean, and Natalie padded across the dusty floor, their footsteps muffled by the protective layer of dust. Bean coughed quietly into his glove as the dust tickled his nose. Bark glanced warily at the duck. They came too far to have their cover blown. Bark motioned to a door at the far end of the room, next to an empty desk. They silence was deafening as the made their way over to the door. Bark slowly reached out and turned the knob. For all they knew, someone could be waiting for them on the other end. He slowly opened the door. It gave a pitiful squeak and swung open.

The three of them relaxed, each had been silently hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Bean and Natalie followed Bark through the doorway. It was just a hallway. A boring, run-of-the-mill hallway. The walls were painted sterile white and floors were made of white tile. Harsh lights from above glared down on the trio, temporarily blinding them. Natalie shut the door behind them. Although much cleaner, brighter, and more used than the lobby, the hallway still felt a little eerie. The white walls were too clean, and the lights too bright. At least it wasn't dead silent like the lobby had been. The _whirr_ of some distant generators that powered the building filled the hallway.

From the rear of the group, Natalie sighed. "Well… this place obviously isn't as abandoned as everyone says it is."

"Obviously." Bark repeated, raising his eyebrows. The three of them continued to walk down the hallway in relative silence, only stopping to peek into a room to see what it contained.

Bean opened on of the doors. It was some kind of closet. "Hey, look!" He said, "Bath robes! This must be a building full of old people!" The green duck reached into the closet and pulled out a long white lab coat.

"Bean, that's a lab coat, not a robe." Natalie explained.

"Pfft… I know a lab coat when I see one, and this is clearly an old guy's bathrobe." Bean protested.

Natalie took two more lab coats out of the closet. She tossed one to Bark. "We should put these on." She said as she put the one she was holding on. "There's probably some kind of lab in here. Otherwise, the coats wouldn't be here."

Bark reluctantly mumbled his agreement and put on the lab coat Natalie had tossed him. "Bean, put one on too."

"I don't want old guy germs!" The duck wailed.

"Bean… put on the damn suit." Natalie grumbled. The duck rectulantly complied, muttering inaudible complaints about old people.

"I feel like a doctor…" Bark grumbled, examining himself in the shiny floor tiles.

"Paging Dr. Bark…" Bean joked.

"You shouldn't be laughing Bean. You're wearing the same coat." Bark reminded.

"Bean as a doctor… That's a frightening thought." Natalie said as she shut the closet door.

The three continued on down the hall, keeping the chit-chat to the minimum. As he walked, Bark glanced at the various signs on the walls. There was one for a restroom, one for the storage room, and one for something simply called 'Sector Nine'. Up ahead, the hallway forked into two new hallways. The right lead to the storage facilities and the restrooms while the left lead to the so-called Sector Nine. They went left.

Bark, Bean, and Natalie found themselves facing on white door with a tinted glass window. They opened it. They were no standing in another hallway, similar to the first. The same harsh lighting, white walls, and white tile were present. They could no longer hear the whirring of the generator, but the room was cool. Silver metal doors lined both sides of the walls.

"What do you think's in there?" Bean asked.

Bark shrugged. "They're probably locked." To prove his point, he grabbed the door handle and turned it. It was indeed locked. They continued on down the hallway.

* * *

"Come on, let's get out of here and find Bark and the others." Amy said, adverting her gaze from the computer screen and to the door. Cream and Ciel nodded in agreement. The pink hedgehog shut down the computer, and the three of them shuffled out into the hallway and came face to face with……

"Bark?!" Amy greeted in surprise as she smacked right into the polar bear. "We were just going to look for you, Bean, and Natalie."

Bark leaned against the wall and rubbed at the rapidly appearing lump on his nose. "Ouch." He snuffled from underneath his gloves.

"Hi, Amy!" Bean waved energetically from behind Bark.

"Hey, Bean." Amy greeted.

"Why are you guys wearing lab coats?" Cream asked, eyeing the coats with curiosity.

Natalie hitched her thumb back in the direction of the split hallway. "We found them in a closet back in the other hallway. Since they were there, we decided we might as well put them on. You know, so we don't stick out as much."

"Good idea." Amy said with a nod of her head. "There was a lab back at the end of the hall filled with Mobians in white lab coats. You guys will blend in perfectly."

"Why would we need to blend in…?" Bark asked, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. After all, it was just a lab. Just a lab. I would be rather stupid of them to go barging into a lab if there was nothing to barge in for. He voiced his opinion on the matter.

"Because," Amy began, "there was a computer in the other room-"

"Ooh… a computer…"

"…I looked at it," the pink hedgehog ignored the comment and continued, "It turns out that Shadow is behind all this, and there are other Mobians helping him. Think about it, he could have poor innocent Mobians enslaved. Some of the pictures on the lists looked like they belonged to young ones. And Shadow probably has Tails." She added.

Bark rubbed at his nose as he considered what Amy had just said. From behind him, Bean spoke up. "He might be using Tails' knowledge to produce powerful and dangerous stuff. We should go into the lab and check it out."

"Bean…" Bark muttered. "I think that might be one of the most intelligent things I've ever heard you say."

"Thank you. Afterwards, can we get pie? I like pie."

"…Sure."

"Yay! Pie!"

Bark, Bean, and Natalie buttoned up the lab coats they were wearing as they peeked into the entrance to the busy laboratory. As busy as it was, they would have no problem fitting in. Natalie buttoned the last button and took a deep breath. "What if we get caught?" She asked.

"I doubt it." Ciel said. "It's pretty busy. They probably won't even notice you guys."

"I hope not…" The black cat muttered.

"Okay," Amy said, "If anyone starts to get suspicious, just get out as fast as possible. Me, Ciel, and Cream will be waiting in the hallway. Good luck!"

Ciel grinned and flashed them the thumbs-up sign. Bean returned it as he followed Bark and Natalie down the stairs into the lab.

The lab was not as brightly lit as the hallway. A couple bare light bulbs hung from the ceiling, bathing the walls in an eerie white light. On the walls were all manner of strange looking things. One wall held a massive computer monitor and control panel. Another wall had rows of tubes filled a green plasma-like substance; it looked as if they were empty. The wall opposite of that sported a map of Central City and the surrounding area, a chart depicting several elements unknown to Bark, diagrams of various gears, and an organized list of machine parts.

"Well… this place is definitely going on my creepy list." Bean whispered to Bark. The polar bear smirked in agreement.

"Exactly what are they doing here?" Natalie asked no one in particular. "It looks like they're doing something with machines and something with chemistry."

Bark shrugged. "Let's go find out."

The three of them made their way across the room and over to a nearby table which appeared to be empty except for a beleaguered looking porcupine wearing thick, coke-bottle glasses. He was frantically tinkering with what looked like some kind of ray-gun. He didn't even bother to look up as Bark and the others approached.

"Uh, excuse me…?" Bark asked tentatively. The porcupine twitched his ears in acknowledgement. "We need some help…"

The porcupine looked up at them quizzically. "What do you mean, 'need help'? You mean you don't know what you're doing?"

"Uh… no."

The porcupine clicked his oversized teeth with pity. "We've been working in Sector Nine for over a year now, and you still have no idea what you're doing?!" He asked in disbelief.

"Uh… well. We haven't really been paying much attention…" Natalie said to the porcupine. "So if you could fill us in, we'd really appreciate it."

The porcupine sighed and picked up his screwdriver again. "Well…" He began, "It is our job to manufacture various weapons. Hand to hand combat weapons, ray-guns, missiles, etcetera, etcetera. We also are working an army of high-functioning robots equipped with powerful weapons."

"What are the chemicals for?" Bark asked, pointing to the vials of various chemicals that a leopard at another table was handling.

"Chemical experimentation." The porcupine muttered hastily under his breath as he screwed one last bolt into the ray gun. He held it up for all to see, his quills prickling with pride at his achievement.

"…What is it?" Bean asked.

The porcupine furrowed his eyebrows and set the gun back on the table. "This," he said, sweeping his hand over the gun, "Is the first auto-robotizing ray gun ever constructed. Dr. Robotnik will be so pleased…" He purred.

Bark and Natalie exchanged puzzled glances. Robotnik? What did he have to do with any of this? Amy hadn't mentioned anything about him. She had told them Shadow was behind Tails kidnapping. Bark inwardly groaned. Great, this was getting more absurdly complicated by the minute.

Natalie frowned and tilted her head to the side. "That's not what we heard. We heard Shadow was running this whole operation."

Besides her, Bark cringed and mentally slapped himself. Great, now the porcupine was going to get suspicious…

On the contrary, the porcupine was not the least bit suspicious. He smirked slightly and pushed his thick glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "You're mistaken. Shadow is assisting Dr. Robotnik. He and some others have decided that they would be better off serving Robotnik than suffering the consequences when he takes power."

Bark couldn't resist smirking at the porcupine's certainty that Robotnik would succeed in his quest for power. Bark and Bean had come against the doctor once. It was pathetic at best. And from what Bark had heard in the news throughout the years, Robotnik's schemes hadn't appeared too much more successful. The thought of him actually succeeding made Bark chuckle. There was no way he could think up a scheme so grand that it would actually work. Especially not nowadays. The doctor was surely getting on in age. But if Shadow had a hand in this… then maybe he was just using Dr. Robotnik for access. After all, as absurd as most of his schemes had been, he had succeed in striking terror into the souls of many Mobians.

"So what do you do with the stuff after you build it?" Natalie asked the porcupine.

"We give it to the supervisor, Kyba," He jerked his head in the direction of the white canine in a sleek black dress, "And she stores it in some vault. About once or twice a week, this purple coyote, Eliakashio, comes by and picks up everything." The porcupine couldn't talking, but Bark had tuned him out.

He glanced over at Bean. The duck had the same worried expression he had. They had run into Eliakashio Sinclaire, or Eliah for short, a couple times in their younger days before they went their own ways. She was a shady character. Conniving, ornery, a bit cruel, and generally unpleasant. The first time they ran into her she had attempted to rob them and bludgeon them with a shovel. The second time around, she had made a deliberate attempt on their lives. Neither of them were looking forward to dealing with her again.

By now, the porcupine was starting to get a little suspicious. Natalie had been drilling him with questions that anybody working in that lab would know the answers to, regardless of whether or not they had been paying attention. Hell, even the guy who got blind drunk almost every day knew the answers to most of the questions he was being asked. Something was off. "What's your name?" He asked suddenly.

"Natalie Barlow." The black cat answered, slightly taken aback by the sudden question. The porcupine bit his upper lip with his oversized teeth and glanced over at the table Kyba was hovering near.

"Will you excuse me for a second?" He asked with a wry grin. "I need to discuss something with someone…"

"Um… Sure." Natalie muttered as the porcupine hurried off. She watched suspiciously as he waddled over to the sleek, official canine that he had referred to as Kyba. Natalie's mouth went dry and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the porcupine hurriedly whisper something in Kyba's ear and glance over at her. The white canine frowned and glanced down at a clipboard held loosely under one arm. Her frowned etched deeper into her face as glanced at the next sheet. Natalie could see a very polished-looking sharp tooth poking out of the corner of Kyba's mouth. She had always felt slightly uncomfortable in the presence of canines. It was a cat thing.

"Uh… Bark." She muttered hoarsely. The polar bear had been too busy discussing the whole Eliah situation with Bean that neither of them had noticed that they were about to be in seriously trouble.

"What?" The polar bear asked, turning around to face Natalie.

The black cat gulped nervously and gestured over to the raging canine that was storming over to their table. "We're screwed…"

"Damnit." Bark cursed under his breath. "What did you do?" He hissed at Natalie.

The black cat shrugged. "I don't know!" She whispered loudly. "I was just asking him some questions and he suddenly asked me what my name was. I told him, and then he just excused himself and went off to go talk to that Kyba lady… I'm sorry."

Bark clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists. "Why did you even keep asking him questions? Why couldn't you have just let my handle it."

"I'm sorry." Natalie said with an irritated sigh. Normally she would be arguing with him over the matter, but she was just too tired right now. She hadn't gotten any sleep in almost two days now. Neither of them had, so a bit irrational behavior could be excused.

Bark took a deep breath and exhaled loudly as Kyba halted in front of their table. She cleared her throat softly before speaking to them in a cool, dangerous voice. "I don't see your name on this list." She said very matter-of-factly to Natalie. The black cat said nothing.

Kyba's gaze hardened. "I want to know what you three are doing here, and I want to know now."

Bark, Bean, and Natalie all exchanged worried glances. They had better think of a good excuse. Fast.

Kyba pursed her lips and glared at them as they stood in silence. "Very well…" She turned sharply on one heel and started barking orders to the Mobians in the laboratory.

Suddenly on impulse, Bean dove for a nearby vial of chemicals and hurled it at Kyba. The canine hissed in pain and clutched the back of her head as she whirled around. Her sharp green eyes were fixed on the duck. She lunged at him. Bean quickly ducked underneath the table. The enraged canine's jaws snapped at the feathers on his head. She growled and spat out the feathers. "Seize them!" She shouted as she scrambled across the table, knocking the ray gun onto the floor in her frenzied anger.

Bean slipped out from under the table, sliding agilely between Kyba's legs. Bark, who had been standing off to the side in shock, hurried to aid his friend. He pounded one burly fist into Kyba's side as she charged Bean. She was thrown off her feet and collided into the table. By now, the others in the lab were charging at them from every angle. Bark grabbed one of the twisted steel legs from the table wreckage. The mighty polar bear clouted a nearby fox in the chest with the table leg, sending him crashing into those behind them. Beside Bark, Natalie was agilely weaving through the Mobians trying to find Bean. She hadn't seen him since he ran from underneath the table. She saw him hunched under another table, one far away from the brawl. Natalie got down on her hands and knees and crawled under to join him.

"What the hell are you doing, Bean?" She panted. She was out of breath from the fighting and her chest ached.

The duck pointed to the chemicals he had in his hands. "I'm making a bomb!" He said proudly.

"You're making a _what_?!" Natalie gasped.

"A bomb."

"Are you crazy? You'll kill us all."

Bean smiled and shook his head. "Trust me. I do this all the time."

Natalie stared at him in disbelief. Finally, she just shook her head and sighed. "Alright. What can I do to help?"

"Tell Bark." Bean said, "And take cover behind a table or something when I go to throw it. I already warned Amy, Ciel, and Cream. They left the building. The bomb will explode about fifteen seconds after I throw it so hurry."

"Okay." Natalie backed out from the table and sprinted back towards the brawling. She wove in out of the Mobians, trying her best not to get hit. It didn't take her long to reach Bark. The polar bear was up against a wall, beating back Kyba, who had apparently recovered from being thrown into a table, and the others.

"Natalie!" He roared when he caught sight of the black cat. "Help me out." The polar bear grunted as he whacked a hedgehog over the head with a sickening crack.

Natalie somersaulted underneath a nearby burly rabbit's legs before deftly kicking them out from underneath him. She kicked away a few more Mobians before she could close enough to Bark to talk to him. "Bean is building a bomb." She explained in between breaths, "He said to hide behind a table when he gets ready to throw it."

Bark nodded as he punched a ferret that had been getting to close for comfort. He didn't know when Bean planned on throwing said bomb, but he hoped it would be soon. The laboratory Mobians were starting to close in on them. Fast. He had been doing his best to keep them from overwhelming him, but he could only keep it up for so long. His arms ached from the effort of wielding the table leg, and he several cuts on his arms were he had been slashed at with claws and teeth.

He heard Natalie yelp in beside him. He assumed she had probably been bitten by some feral Mobian. He couldn't look now. If he did, they would overwhelm him. Suddenly, he noticed Bean out of the corner of his eye. The duck was waving cheerfully at him, bomb in one hand. He flashed them the thumbs up sign and hurled the bomb into the crowd.

"Look out!" Bark shouted. He turned heel and ran, pushing aside anybody in his way. The polar bear crashed into Natalie in the mad rush for the overturned table. He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her towards the table.

"Wait, what about Bean?!" She hollered.

"Forget it!" Bark shouted back. She pulled her wrist free and turned back to find Bean.

Bark swore under his breath and grabbed the back of Natalie's tank top. "Are you mad?! That'll kill you!" He yanked her backwards. Hard. She toppled back onto the floor and scrambled behind the table. Bark ducked down beside her just as the bomb went off.

The explosion was deafening. It rocked the small laboratory and forced the breath from Bark's lungs. He wondered if the table would hold up. He could feel the searing heat on the side of the metal slab. Besides him, Natalie gasped in shock as the explosion threw her flat onto her face. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut and latched onto Bark's thick fur. And as suddenly as the explosion came, it ended, leaving the room in total silence.

* * *

**And I'll end it there…. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Crossing Over**

Eliah Sinclaire was not happy. Eliah Sinclaire was _pissed_. The purple coyote had been present at her computer screen to witness Sino's accident in Sky Rail. She was furious, despite the fact that she was forced to secretly blame herself for the problem. The "standard" equipment she had issued Sino with was not standard at all. It was old and probably defected. She hadn't cared. It wasn't her job to care. But if word got around the she had given Sino a faulty bag and therefore caused the accident, Shadow (or his new lackey Jet) would make she wound up right alongside Miles Prower. Eliah groaned and massaged her temples. How was she to know that that stupid wolf would try to cross rails by sliding on his backpack? What kind of idiot would try that anyways?

_The desperate kind of idiot. _The little voice in the back of her mind that she chose to stuff away and ignore ninety-nine point nine percent of the time nagged into her ear. The purple coyote slammed her fist down and her desk and swore loudly. Well, she might as well attempt to salvage the rest of her dignity and make an attempt to contact Sino. After all, there was a slight chance that he hadn't fallen the whole thousand or so feet to the bottom of Sky Rail. Maybe he had landed on one of the ledges. Maybe.

Eliah slid her keyboard in front of her and begin typing. She located the program she had used to install the two-way communication device she had given Sino in case she needed to contact him. She clicked on the connect button and was greeted by a burst of static. She heard a faint scraping sound and then the raspy voice of Sino. Good, at least the wolf brat was still alive. She might be able to save herself (and her job) after all.

"What happened?" She asked, all too unaware how stupid that question sounded to her own ears. Had she not just witnessed Sino's plight on the computer in front of her? There was no response from Sino. Eliah assumed he hadn't heard her.

"Hello?" She heard Sino repeat for the third time on the other end of the computer.

"What the hell happened?" She asked once more.

"I fell." She heard the wolf chock out.

_No duh. _

"Bag snapped… I was trying to cross rails… Fell from top of Sky Rail. Eliah, please help me!" He sobbed.

Eliah grumbled more curses under her breath, more frustrated with herself than with Sino. Why was she asking stupid questions that she already knew the answers to? "How bad are you hurt?" She grumbled, aware of how irritable she was getting. Sino rasped his reply. The purple coyote swore quietly under her breath. He was in a bad position. There was no way he would be able to get himself out of there and find the polar bear and the duck he had been ordered to find.

"You're screwed." She said unsympathetically. Why mince words with the kid? He had less than two hours to live anyways. "The vultures will probably show up soon to watch you die. You've probably got about two or three hours to live." She informed him. She rolled her eyes as she heard him begin to sob on the other end of the communicator.

"What about Inia?" He sobbed.

Eliah smirked. "I should've sent her to do your job. She probably would have been more competent. By the way Sino, the vultures always go for the eyeballs first." She added the last part rather gleefully. She might as well mess with his head too. No one would care. Not here. This was not a place for sympathy.

Eliah clicked off the computer, ignoring Sino's cries for help as she did so. She pushed away from the desk and stood up. The purple coyote straightened her shirt and bandanna before getting on her hands and knees to pull out a long wooden box from under her desk. She slowly and ritualistically undid the metal clasps and opened the box. Inside, on the crushed red velvet lied Eliah's trademark shovel. The coyote slowly took it out of the case and cradled it her arms. She hadn't had an opportunity to use her shovel in years… not since her last run in with that polar bear and his lackey duck. Eliah instinctively reached up to her neck and traced the ragged pink scar. Last time they met, the polar bear scarred her, but this time, she would be the one inflicting all the damage.

She grinned. It was a twisted and sinister grin. The grin of an evil, psychotic coyote. She tightened her grip on her shovel and stood up. Sino had failed. He would not be able to catch them now. But she could. Apparently the old saying held some truth to it: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." Eliah recited the adage out loud as she kicked the wooden case back under her desk. She paused at the door, he head resting on the cold, metal door knob. This was going to be fun. Very, very fun. With one last chuckle, Eliah opened the door and vanished into the dark hallway.

She paused momentarily only to snatch a black cloak and a supply bag from a nearby closet before slinking away towards the nearest exist. A sleazy, pathetic looking figure covered with fading bruises and partially-healed scratches was leaning against the cool metal door. Eliah smirked at him. "God, you look like crap. What God-forsaken hellhole did they pull you out of?"

Nack sneered at her. She returned the gesture. "The transmission you sent the other day said you were still stuck in that desert. How the hell did you get out?"

"That ain't none of your business." The weasel retorted.

"Fine." Eliah snorted. "Then get out of my way. I have stuff to do."

Nack eyed her and the shovel held in her hand suspiciously, but he stepped aside. He had felt that shovel smacking him the side of the face before. It wasn't an experience he wanted to relive again.

Eliah punched the numerical code into the number pad and stepped back as the door opened with an audible swoosh. The coyote was hit by a wall of hot air that contrasted sharply with the near-freezing air inside the gigantic base. She briefly glanced back as the door closed behind her, hiding the metal labyrinth of corridors and rooms from the world. The coyote gazed around the forest. The bright sky of midday was hidden by layer upon layer of thick trees and vines. Only a few patches of sickly green light dappled the ground. Eliah wiped the beads of sweat from her brow and reached for her the machete on her belt. It wasn't there. She swore silently under breath; she had left the large blade lying on her desk. Fine. She would improvise. Vines could be hacked away just as easily with a shovel as a machete.

* * *

Sino didn't remember the exact moment it had happened. All he remembered was an ebbing black mist slowly enveloping him, soothing his aches and pains, as he slowly lost consciousness. He had welcomed the blackness with all the enthusiasm of a doomed creature, and he gladly intruded on his awareness, dulling the pain and easing his fears. He had the sensation of floating a dark cloud, drifting an eternal sea. It seemed very relaxing and poetic to him. Someday, he ought to tell Inia about this…

Just as the blackness seemed to get blacker, a white hot jolt of pain shot through his body. Sino cried out in agony and flailed his arms wildly. He felt someone grab at them and wrestle his flailing limbs to his sides. Someone murmured softly in his ear, and Sino felt a cool dampness on his face. He slowly exhaled the breath he had been holding and tried opening his eyes. His eyelids were heavy as hell. It felt as if someone had attached a hundred pound weight to each of them. But he managed to pry them open. The young wolf blinked several times and tried to gather his surroundings.

He was lying on cot in the corner of a cool, dimly lit stone room. There weren't any windows in the room, which looked more like a dungeon, and the only light came from a small lamp on a little wooden table next to the cot. Sino could see two silhouettes outlined in the poor lighting. One was large and bulky, the other, small and slender. Sino took a deep breath and winced as a sharp pain shot through his ribs. He coughed quietly and tried to sit up, only to find he had been tied down to the cot.

"Sorry…" He heard a soft, feminine voice whisper. "We had to restrain you. You were kicking and crying out in your sleep. We were afraid you might hurt yourself more."

Sino squinted his eyes as somebody turned up the brightness of the lamp. The whole room was now illuminated, and he could see a kindly looking panda standing beside the cot. She smiled warmly at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she did so. She wasn't old, but she wasn't to terribly young either. If Sino had to guess, he would say so was about thirty or so. The burly, yet awkward moose standing slightly to the panda's left awkwardly scratched at his ungainly antlers. He muttered something under his breath and glanced over at Sino.

The panda handed Sino a glass of milky blue liquid. "Here, drink this." Sino gingerly took the glass and glanced at it warily. "It will help with the pain." The panda reassured him.

He gingerly held the glass up to his nose and sniffed it. It smelled almost like peaches and cinnamon, an odd smell for something milky blue. Sino slowly took a sip, and sputtered, resisting the urge to cough the liquid up. It had smelled good, but it tasted bitter. He forced himself to down the whole glass before collapsing back onto the pillow.

"You're very lucky to be alive." The panda said as she untied the ropes used to restrain him during his unconsciousness. "I've never heard of anyone surviving a fall from the rails. You're a lucky young wolf, bouncing off the ledges like that and only getting a few injuries."

All the memories of the ledge suddenly came crashing back to him. He instinctively raised a hand to face. Beneath the tattered remnants of his gloves, Sino could feel stitching along his forehead just above his eyebrow. One of his shoulders had been put in a sling, and there was more stitching across his chest. Then he remembered the conversation with Eliah, and he felt something other than pain in his chest. Anger. Hot, boiling anger. That horrible coyote was going to leave him there to die. She could have helped him if she really wanted to, but she hadn't cared. After all, he was dispensable. With a cry of rage, Sino lunged out of the cot and toppled onto the floor. The panda stepped back in surprise at his sudden outburst, whereas the moose grabbed his good arm and tried to drag him back to the cot.

Sino shook the moose away. "Leave me alone!" He hollered. The moose released his arm and backed away, his hands up in apologetic surrender. Sino tried to stand to his feet, using his one good arm to lean against the side table. His legs wobbled like jelly beneath him, but he managed to stay on his feet. Horrible pain shot up his side as he took a deep breath.

"Please…" The panda pleaded with him. "You need to rest… Your shoulder was dislocated, your ribs broken in two different places, and your chest, face, and back were sliced open. Please, just rest before you rip open your stitches…" She begged.

Sino shook his head and took another deep breath. "My sister… I need to help my sister… She's in trouble." The young wolf looked around the room trying to find his bag. It may have been damaged in the fall, but it had his food and water in it. "Where is my bag?" He asked at last, unable to find it in the little stone room.

"I'm sorry. I had to throw it away. It was ruined. The straps were broken, and the canteen had broken." The panda told him.

Sino winced in pain and disappointment. "I need another bag, with food and water in it." He said to the panda and the moose.

The panda shook her head. "You need to rest… I'll get you a bag, food, water, whatever you want later, but please rest." She reasoned.

Exasperated, Sino shook his head once more. "No… I don't have time to rest. My sister is in trouble. She needs my help. I need to help her."

The panda sighed and chewed at the inside of her mouth. She glanced over at the moose, who only shrugged in reply. Finally, she shook her and sighed again. There was no she would be able to reason him into resting. "Fine…" She said, "I'll get you a bag with food and water and blankets. I can see there's no stopping you from helping your sister, just please be careful. I can't stand to not help every creature in need." Behind her, the moose shook his head in annoyance.

And for the first time since he had gotten himself in this predicament, Sino felt hopeful. There was another to help his sister. Screw Eliah. She was a cruel, selfish coyote who only cared about saving herself. She didn't care about what happened to him or Inia. He had been forced against his will to help her in the first place. She had used his sister as incentive for him to find some polar bear and duck. Oh, he'd find them all right. He'd find them, but he had his own plan.

Sino was switching sides.

* * *

Bean couldn't believe he was still alive. The green duck was wedged between the crumpled remains of a metal table and the wall. His vision was obscured by the thick gray dust that had resulted from the explosion. He coughed and rubbed at his eyes. The smell of chemicals and signed feathers stung at his nose. He sneezed. The sound reverberated through the room. It seemed surreal. He could barely see his hand in front of his face, it was dead silent except for the ringing in his ears, and he didn't know whether or not Bark and Natalie had been blown away in the blast. Bean coughed again and rubbed at his gritty eyes with his sooty gloves. He would just have to wait it out and see.

The duck curled into the fetal position and pondered how long it would take for the dust and smoke to clear. It always varied from explosion to explosion. Sometimes it only took a few minutes, and sometimes it took more. If you factored in all the chemicals that had been used, the fact that the blast had taken place in small enclosed, and that there was no breeze passing through to disperse it, Bean calculated that it would take about thirty minutes for the dust to settle to visibility level. The duck smiled to himself. Good thing it wasn't a math problem. He was bad at math. Good thing this was pyrotechnics. He was good at that.

Bean yawned and uncurled himself slowly. His head throbbed. The duck reached back to feel the back of his head. It was sticky with drying blood and he was missing some feathers. He presumed that he'd been hit by something during the explosion. Stuff like that was normal. Bean stretched his arms and legs out, loosing his stiff muscles and checking for other injuries. Other than a few scratches and bumps, he was fine. He yawned again and leaned back against the wall. Might as well catch some sleep while the dust cleared up. There was nothing he could do until then.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the room, Bark slowly forced himself to open his eyes. But it was a stupid thing to do. The polar bear blinked and shook his head a few times to make sure he hadn't gone blind. No, the room really was a solid wall of white and gray smoke. He coughed loudly and then sneezed. Damn dust was getting to him. Bark flinched as he heard somebody cough beside him. He relaxed. For a second he had forgotten that Natalie was next to him. "Are you okay?" He heard her rasp through the dust.

"Yes. You?"

"Peachy." The cat coughed again. "How long do you think this dust will take to clear?" She asked.

"Dunno." Bark muttered. This was a miserable situation. It truly was. He couldn't see so he couldn't find Bean, his arm hurt like hell, and there was a dull burning pain in his left leg. He groaned quietly shifted his position. And the worst part of all of this… there was absolutely nothing he could do until the smoke cleared.

_Damn._


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Enter the Coyote (Again)**

_Later that day…_

Glorious streaks of flaming orange, bright red, and dazzling yellow painted the grassy hillside overlooking Central City, giving the sense that entire landscape was aflame. In the nearby woods, flickies and other birds trilled their evening songs, bees droned lazily over the flowered fields on their way back to their hives for night, and a few stray clouds drifted in the colorful sky, glowing with every hue of the sunset. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying with it the sweet scent of flowers. It was this lovely area, offering a generous view of the city, that a makeshift camp had been built by Bark, Amy, and the other adventurers. It was now to be their second night sleeping outdoors.

Bean and Ciel were crouched over a smoking pile of wood, attempting to build a fire as Amy supervised and laid down blankets and sleeping bags. Cream was making an aromatic dinner, much to the delight of everyone else. They were all famished, none of them really having eaten much since early that morning. There hadn't been time to eat lunch; they had been too busy cooped up in a smoked-filled room trying to establish contact with each other and anyone else who may have survived. In the end, it turned out only them, Kyba, and four of her little cronies. Bark had actually been quite persuasive getting information from them. But then again who wouldn't cooperate with an angry polar bear waving a table leg under your nose?

But know, said polar bear was sitting on one of the blankets, cradling his injured arm. Natalie was sitting next to him, first aid kit laid out in front of her, trying to persuade Bark to let her look at his arm. "I need to see it…" She pleaded, "It needs to be cleaned and bandaged. It won't hurt. I promise…" She sighed and motioned in Bean's direction. "Bean let me bandage the cut on the back of his head. It'll feel better once it's bandaged."

Bark glowered at the black cat, as if blaming her for his injuries. And besides, what reason did he have to trust her? She had tried to kill him, she had angered him purposely, and she had gotten herself into dangerous situations…. All in the space of less than forty-eight hours. But with last sigh of protest, he let her examine his arm.

"These scratches look really deep." She observed. "I'm going to have to stitch them up."

Bark took back his arm. "You will not!" He growled.

Natalie raised an eyebrow at him. "Do want your arm to get infected?" She asked. He muttered something under his breath and stuck out his arm once more. The black cat grabbed a brown bottle and a cotton ball off the blanket. She drizzled some of the bottle's contents onto the cotton ball and placed it one the deep scratches on the polar bear's arm. He roared in pain and clenched his teeth together. It stung like hell.

"Sorry." Natalie apologized. The black cat picked up a skinny needle threaded with some kind of string. "This will probably hurt." She warned before sticking the needle into Bark's flesh. The polar bear grunted and clenched his teeth harder together. Damn, what she doing, stitching him up or trying to kill him? It would remain one of the world's great unsolved mysteries.

Natalie cut the thread with a quick nip from her sharp white teeth and began to swath Bark's arm in a bandage. "You're welcome." She said dryly.

"…Thanks." Bark mumbled somewhat reluctantly.

A good ten feet from the polar bear and the black cat, Bean and Ciel were still crouched over the heap of wood. It had been smoking a few moments ago, but it had apparently decided to die on them.

"I thought you were some kind of pyro?" Ciel whined as he frantically rubbed two sticks together, hoping for a spark. …Or at least smoke.

"It's wet wood…" Bean remarked as he too grabbed two sticks from the pile. When in Rome… He might as well try it. Besides, it always seemed to work on television. And since when did television lie?

* * *

Not to far from where Amy, Bark, Bean, Cream, Ciel, and Natalie were camping for the night, Eliakashio, or as most called her, Eliah, was crouched on a large boulder overlooking a small lake. The purple coyote was staring blankly into the water. The beauty of the fiery sunset was lost on Eliah. She was completely and intently focused on the water before her, just staring and waiting. Waiting for the dark. She was rather fond of the dark. It offered a type of stealth that she was unable to achieve at no other time. In the cloak of darkness, she would not be seen. She could slip through trees and crawl across fields. She may have been a little on the stocky side, but Eliakashio Sinclaire was a coyote. And coyotes were hunters.

In fact, Eliah's own father had been a hunter. A bounty hunter. His name was Somalent Sinclaire. He had been a harsh father, but he hadn't raised a fool. Eliah silently thanked her lucky stars that she took after her father more than her mother. Sure, she had gotten her mother's purple fur and piercing ice-blue eyes instead of her father's indigo pelt and deep green eyes as her brother, Tavares, had. But Tavares was like his mother. He hadn't been cut out for bounty hunting. As her father liked to call him, Tavares was a sissy. He had always wanted to help their mother, Carmelita, with the cooking and sewing instead of helping their father with manual labor. Tavares was the "apple of his mother's eye" as their grandmother, Dalmae, liked to put it. Mother and Dalmae had loved Tavares. Somalent thought he needed to be tougher and manlier. Once, when Eliah was nine and Tavares was eight, Somalent had taken them out to learn how to shoot a gun. Tavares had cried the whole time. Eliah chuckled at the memory of her father's embarrassment.

The purple coyote flopped back onto the rock and thought back to all the Christmases where their father would get Tavares a hunting knife or a pellet gun in an attempt to make him tougher, and their mother would get Eliah dolls. They would always switch presents when their parents weren't looking. So it was no surprise to everyone when Tavares announced that he had a boyfriend when he was fifteen. Somalent had ranted on for weeks about how unnatural it was. That same year, Eliah packed her bags and bailed on her family. She was sixteen, and she had been offered a job as an assassin. She had taken it. For four years, she reigned as one of the best assassins in Station Square, Westopolis, and Central City (before it starting going to the dogs, that is.) Then, she had been approached by a mysterious stranger who offered her a job where "her expertise would come in handy", as he had said. So now, here she was. Sitting on a rock in the fading light. At least she had seen a little more glamour and glitz as an assassin. Rich folks paid through the nose for her services. Now, she was getting paid next to nothing. What had possessed her to take this job in the first place?

Bored, she tapped her shovel against her boot. Nowadays, it seemed like the shovel was her best friend. She had gotten it at an old job she had had at a hotel when she was about fourteen. She had gotten into a disagreement about money with a fellow employee, tempers had flared, and Eliah had reached for a shovel… Next thing she knew she was using the same shovel to dig her six feet under. The shovel had stayed nearby ever since, even when she was fired from the hotel and temporarily committed to a home for the criminally insane after attacking and killing three people. She was sentenced to be committed for life, seeing as she was "dangerous and psychotic", but her mother and her money pulled a few strings and had her out in six months. She had the shovel with her through the whole ordeal.

And now it would be with her when she destroyed that polar bear and duck, just like she had been ordered to. Eliah shifted her gaze from the lake's glassy surface to the dark sky. It was time. It was dark enough for her to pass as a simple shadow in the trees. No one would notice a dark shape lurking among other dark shapes. Maybe if she was really lucky, they'd already be asleep. In fact, the coyote mused as she circled around the left side of the small lake, they probably would be. After all, they had had such a long day… Eliah couldn't resist a sinister chuckle. She tightened her hold on her shovel's polished wooden handle. Just a few more minutes and it would all be over…

Eliah exited out of the trees and stared at the grassy expanse of field in front of her. In the far distance, she could see the faintly glowing lights of Central City's night life. But much closer, she could see her goal- a small pinprick of yellow-orange light in the not so distant distance. From this far away, she couldn't make out any figures around the light, but she knew that someone had to be there. No one in their right mind would leave a fire unattended in the middle of a grassy plain. The purple coyote grinned wickedly, displaying her curved, yellowing teeth. She flattened her bulky frame against the ground, the dirt and grass brushing against the hem of her black cloak.

Careful not to make a sound, Eliah stalked through the tall grass. She knew that her tail would be slightly visible above the grass line, but only the very tip. And while a tuft of purple fur would looks a little out of place amidst tall golden grass, no one would probably notice. And if they did, they would most likely dismiss it as a shadow from a cloud or something. The purple coyote cautiously stuck her head above the grass to grasp her surroundings. She was much closer to the glowing yellowish light now. Close enough to see that it was a fire. A small one, and poorly built, but a fire none the less. She was also close enough to see the faint outline of a figure sitting up, but slouched over. Eliah cursed silently to herself. This shadow was too slender to be Bark and too tall to be Bean. And even worse, from the looks of it, whoever it was, was awake and keeping watch.

Muttering curses under her breath, Eliah edged around the glowing fire. It would be easier to sneak up behind the person and surprise them. Attacking from behind… A personal favorite technique of hers. No one would ever see it coming. How ingenious of her. She allowed herself to flash another grin as she eased herself into the exact position for an attack. She slowly started slinking closer…

And closer…

And closer…

She was so close she could see the rising and falling of the figure's sides. She could also see that the figure that was a black female cat. Eliah felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She knew this cat. Her name was Natalie Barlow, and they had run into each other on more than one occasion, but always while on Eliah had been on the job. The first time, she had been ordered by a rather shady figure to dispose of her for a hefty sum of money. They had a confrontation inside an abandoned house in the suburbs of Westopolis, which had ended with Eliah getting hit in the face with metal rod and breaking her jaw. The second time they had an altercation was in Station Square, inside a safe that Natalie had locked them both into. It had been an unusual circumstance, but this time Eliah had come out on top, slashing Natalie's face with her knife and knocking her out. And now, they meet again.

Eliah bunched her legs together and lunged at the back of Natalie's head, teeth bared and mouth twisted into a hideous grin. The black cat screeched in surprise as a heap of purple fur crashed into her back. Natalie grabbed at Eliah's fur and threw her forward. She hit the ground with a thud and groaned. The coyote rolled over onto her back just as Natalie came charging towards her. Surprisingly, no one had woken up. The black cat grabbed the coyote's shoulders and pinned her down to the ground as she tried to sit up. "What the hell are you doing here, you psychotic freak?" Natalie whispered harshly.

Eliah grinned deviously and licked her sharp yellowed fangs. "My job." The purple coyote rasped, trying to reach for her shovel. The gardening tool was lying a few feet from the coyote's left hand. Natalie knocked it away and grabbed the coyote by the throat.

"Leave." The black cat demanded, digging her claws into Eliah's neck. The coyote gurgled and tried to pry Natalie's hands away from her neck. The cat tightened her grip. Eliah's vision began to swirl and blur. She tried to reached up and feebly claw at Natalie's face, but she couldn't move her arms. Eliah felt body going limp, and she slowly felt herself slipping away. She gurgled loudly, and everything suddenly began to get much brighter before it crashed into utter darkness.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Era Pala**

Try as she could to fight it, consciousness slowly returned to Eliakashio Sinclaire, bringing with it a pounding pain in her head. Which she found a little odd, since she hadn't been conked in the noggin recently (or maybe she had, and just didn't remember…). But farther below her head was the distinctive tenderness that meant bruises on her neck. Damn that cat. Eliah groaned quietly and opened her eyes. She was greeted by the garish orange light of a crackling fire. She closed them again and tried to sit up, only to find that she was tied to the trunk of a large oak tree. Damn.

Eliah opened her eyes again, squinting against the glow of the fire. She could see the outlines of two figures- one lean and muscular, the other large and bulky- sitting by the fire talking in hushed tones. Four other outlines were clumped around the fire, swaddled in blankets. Most likely sleeping.

"I think she's awake." Eliah heard one of the voices, which she recognized as that damn black cat Natalie, whisper.

The purple coyote heard muffled footsteps in the foliage. They stopped about a foot away from the tree that Eliah was tied to. The coyote coughed and sputtered as cold water was suddenly splashed into her face and dribbled down her shirt.

"Wakey, wakey."

Eliah blinked the water out of her eyes and coughed again. "What the hell?"

"We wanted to make sure you weren't thirsty."

"Go to hell."

"Yeah, I'll meet you there, Eliah."

"Haha, everyone's a comedian."

"What are you doing here?" Natalie demanded.

"Confidential. That means I can't tell you. I know big words get you confused."

"Oh, shut up you ostentatious, narcissistic bitch."

"Now, now. No need to be cruel."

"What are you doing here?" Natalie repeated.

"Like I said, confidential. I'm doing some work for a friend."

"We already know you're working for Shadow." A gruff voice Eliah recognized from past altercations added.

"Is that you, Bark?" The purple coyote asked. "Wow. Been a long time. How's your stupid friend. What's his name…? Oh, yeah, Bean. How's he? Still stupid?"

"How's your neck? Still scarred?" Bark retorted.

"Yeah… Thanks for asking. Actually, I should thank you. It gives me a more sinister look. Oh, and for the record, I hate you."

"And we do too." Natalie added.

"Oh, I feel so _loved_." Eliah muttered sarcastically.

"So what are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I came to kill you all."

"Wow, you came yourself. We must really be important then. You aren't the kind to get your hands dirty."

"Don't flatter yourself, Nat. I figured a young wolf would be able to handle you, but he was too stupid to find you."

"Where's Tails?" Bark demanded, abruptly changing the subject.

"Who the hell is Tails?"

"The fox you or Shadow or whoever took from the lab in Station Square."

"Oh, the two-tailed freak? Yeah… don't know. Don't really care either."

"What does Shadow want with him?"

Eliah didn't answer. Instead, she thought for a second before answering. "What's in it for me if I tell you?"

"We won't kill you."

Eliah laughed. "No, really. What's in it for me?"

"What do you want?"

"Take me to Station Square."

"Fine. What does Shadow want Tails for?"

"Well, this is what I've heard… Tails invented a machine that can reproduce a perfect copy of a Chaos Emerald. All you need is one and presto! Instant Chaos Emerald. Just as powerful as the real one."

"So all it does is make artificial emeralds?"

"No… it makes very _nice_ and very _powerful _artificial emeralds. The possibilities are endless. Weapons, ray guns, scientific breakthroughs. The more emeralds, the power. The more power Shadow has… Well, you get where I'm going."

"But there's already an artificial emerald out there."

"_One._ There is _one _artificial emerald. And it's not like these. Tails' invention is a breakthrough. As many emeralds as you need… And all you need to run it is the Master Emerald."

"Which Shadow has." Bark stated.

"Right." Eliah continued. "But he doesn't have a Chaos Emerald. Yet. It's only a matter of time. He sent Rouge, Nack, Jet, and Wave out to find them, but so far no one has found one. Not even Rouge. No one has seen one in years. Not since that blue hedgehog hid them all."

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, him. Great hero of Station Square. Shadow basically froze him in time. Same with that echidna that had the Master Emerald. Shadow has them locked up in some room. They're like statues. Kind of freaky, actually."

"Why?"

"I dunno. Not my job to know."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "Fine. Sit tight then, because tomorrow morning, you'll be escorting us to where ever the hell Shadow is keeping Tails."

"The hell I will!"

"If you don't, no Station Square. And besides, Eliah, bad things happen all the time out in middle of no where…"

"Is that a threat?"

"You bet." Natalie patted Eliah's cheek none too gently. "Nighty, night, Eliah."

Eliah slumped against the trunk of the tree and grumbled something inaudible as the footsteps of Natalie and Bark faded into the distance. When word of this got back to Shadow, she was as good as _dead._ Dead, dead, dead. Or, if he was feeling kind, she'd be imprisoned for the rest of her miserable existence. The thought of being locked away in the dark with the very same prisoners she had locked up sent a shiver up her spine. They would rip her to pieces. She stood no chance. Well… there was one alterative.

When it came to bad situations, Eliah Sinclaire always followed the old instinctual response of fight or flight. On any given day, she would take fight over flight in a heartbeat, but the chances of her killing her six captors and escaping _not_ mortally wounded were incredibly slim. Eliah slouched against the tree, letting her weight sink her towards the ground. She leaned forward until her chin was resting on her chest. Almost…

There.

She gripped the rope in her teeth and gnawed. The binding snapped in two, and she shook herself free from other ropes that entrapped her. They should have known better than to try and keep someone as skillful as her tied to a tree with mere rope. Escaping was almost too easy. Eliah had been much worse situations than being tied to a tree with _rope. _It was almost funny how pathetic it was.

Free, Eliah quietly slipped into the tall grasses and few trees of the plain. Fools! She allowed herself a snicker of glee, muffling it with her gloved hands. What idiots! She resisted the urge to laugh aloud, and instead hurried through the grasses. Her shovel was most likely still back at the camp, but she would reclaim it when those idiots were dead and buried. She would dance on their graves as she beat at their headstones with her shovel- no better yet, she'd dig them their own graves. And _then_ she'd dance on them and vandalize their headstones.

The purple coyote was too caught up in her own merriment to notice that the sound of her footsteps wasn't the only sound in the tall grasses of the field. Had she been more alert, she would have heard the muffled clumping of another set of footsteps, followed closely by the sound of something being swung through the air.

_Whumph!_

Stars burst in front of Eliah's eyes as Sino's bag connected with the side of her head. She dropped to the ground, howling in pain and clutching her throbbing head and now bleeding ear.

Enraged, the coyote struggled to her feet and took a swing at the young wolf. Sino nimbly ducked out of her way and swung his bag at her again. The breath was forced from her lungs as the bag connected with her stomach. She could have sworn she heard something crack. Quite possibly her ribs. Or something in Sino's bag. Eliah dropped down to her hands and knees, frantically trying to regain her composure. But before she could, she heard Sino grunt, and a great pain erupted in the back of her head.

Trembling with uncontrollable rage and struggling to catch his breath, Sino just stood there, towering above Eliah's unmoving body. His legs were quaking beneath him, and he felt like he was going to be sick. A single sob escaped from his throat, and he fell down to his knees. …He had killed someone, taken a life. He had never killed anyone in his lifetime… Oh, _god, he killed the queen of shovels, Eliakashio Sinclaire._

Sino picked up his bag from the dirt beside Eliah's body and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He had taken a life. Eliah was dead. He was sure of it. And he was also sure that if he hadn't killed her, she would have eventually killed him and his sister. Eliah was bad. Evil. Suddenly feeling empowered and invincible, Sino stood up and slung his bag over one shoulder, Hearing it's contents clank and slosh around inside. Damn, he had probably pulverized his food and smashed his canteen on Eliah's skull. He glanced down at her body again.

"I hope you burn in hell, Eliah." He muttered angrily through gritted teeth. Calm and composed once again, Sino stepped over her body and walked off in the opposite direction he had come.

* * *

Bark couldn't sleep. He was incredibly exhausted, and his eyes felt so heavy. But he couldn't sleep. For what seemed like an eternity, he lay on his sleeping bag, feeling the poke of the sticks and stones beneath the fabric and listening to the rhythmic sound of breathing and the not-so-rhythmic sound of Ciel's snoring. The polar bear lay on his back, staring up into the vast nothingness of space, a black expanse dotted with occasional pinpricks of white light. 

On the sleeping bag next to him, Bean snuffled in his sleep, muttered something about exploding marshmallows, and rolled over onto his stomach. Convinced he was never going to fall asleep, Bark sat up and crawled out of the sleeping bag. The cool night breeze ruffled his fur as he strolled away from the dying embers of the fire and over to the large outcrop of rocks that had been used as a kitchen earlier that evening. Bark stifled a yawn and climbed onto a boulder. Several feet above him, he could see a black silhouette against the glow of the stars.

"You can't sleep either?" Natalie asked quietly from her perch on the very top boulder.

"No."

Bark made his way up the boulders until he was sitting one rock below Natalie. The black cat took of sip of tea from a tin cup in her gloved hands.

"Eliah's gone." She stated. "I'm not surprised. I tied her up with ropes. I knew she's chew through them in a couple minutes."

Bark grunted.

"We don't need her to find Shadow. He can't be that far from here. Eliah wouldn't come to off us until we at most a day's walk from where ever she came from."

No response.

"Are you still mad at me for kicking your ass back in Dry Lagoon?"

No answer.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Ugh. _Men_."

She dropped down from the top boulder and crouched down beside Bark. "You can't stand the fact that I can fight just as well as you."

Silence.

Natalie inched closer and jabbed his chest with her finger. "But you don't hate me. Because if you did, you would have let me drown in the lagoon. And you would've let me be killed back in the forest."

Bark felt his face burning beneath his fur. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "What's your point?"

Natalie smiled.

Bark narrowed his eyes. "I would've done the same for Bean." He muttered.

The black cat leaned in closer. She was so close, Bark could feel her breath on his nose. And suddenly, he began to feel very panicky. _Oh, crap. Was she going to…?_

"What the hell are you doing?!" He blurted suddenly as he shoved her away from him.

"Nothing."

"Knock it off."

She grinned. "Give me the emerald in your belt."

Bark paused. He had forgotten about the emerald Ciel had given him. "No."

"Why? Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"Fine."

Natalie lunged at Bark and grabbed his belt. It took less than a second for her to pry open the pocket and seize the blue emerald. She cupped it in her hands, the reflection of it dancing in her eyes and giving her a vaguely maniacal look.

Bark grabbed her wrist. "Give it back."

"No."

He twisted her wrist. She gasped and released the Chaos Emerald. It clattered onto the rocks. Natalie glared at Bark. The polar bear still held onto her wrist, glaring back. "I don't like you." He added.

"But you don't hate me."

Bark let go of her wrist and glared at her as she retrieved her abandoned tea cup and skulked off back to the campground, leaving Bark standing alone on the rocks. He scooped up the forgotten emerald and stuffed it back into the pocket on his belt.

_Ugh. Women._

Bark started to climb down from the rocks when he was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"Um… Excuse me?"

Bark glanced around the rocks, but saw nothing. He shook his head. It was probably all in his head. It was just the exhaustion. That was all.

"Over here."

Bark peered around the other side of the rocky outcrop. A young wolf, fourteen or fifteen years old, was standing besides a small boulder. A medium size bag was slung over his left shoulder. A dark stain blotched the bottom corner of it and it looked pretty scuffed up.

"Hey." The wolf greeted. "Can you tell me how far it is to Central City?"

"Uh… Its a couple miles south."

"Okay. Thanks."

The wolf walked past the rocks and kept going. "There's not much left of it." Bark warned.

The wolf stopped and turned around.

"What happened to your bag?" Bark asked.

"Got in a fight with an old acquaintance."

"Purple coyote?"

"Yeah. Eliah Sinclaire. How'd you know?"

"We ran into her a few hours ago."

Suddenly, something Eliah had said earlier popped into Bark's mind.

_I figured a young wolf would be able to handle you, but he was too stupid to find you._

"How'd you know her?" Bark asked the wolf. He climbed down from the rocks and walked over to him.

"She captured me and my sister. I don't remember how long ago it was. She sent me out to do a job for her, but I screwed it up. Guess she came to took care of it herself. Figures."

"What's your name?"

"Sino. Who are you?"

"Bark."

"Eliah sent me to kill you."

"I've heard."

She's dead."

"Huh?"

"I killed her. With my bag."

"Tragedy."

"I hated her. She kept me locked up in a dark stone room away from my sister. I'm glad she's dead."

"You aren't the only one."

"Are you going there?"

"Where?"

"The base? It's where Eliah came from. I heard her talking to Shadow about some 'pests that needed to be taken care of'."

"Yeah."

"I'll show you how to get there. If-"

"If?"

"If you help me save my sister."

"No problem."

* * *

**Finally updated. I'll try to again within the next two weeks or so.**


End file.
